Judgement Call
by bucketgirl55
Summary: Swerksy and Johnson have to make some decisions, while the Squad 55 rig gets wrecked and an arrest goes wrong...
1. Chapter 1

This is one of my "old" ones...Enjoy!

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own any of these characters, I just play around with them.

* * *

**Judgement Call**

After two days of rain, finally the sun came out again. The sky was in a perfect blue and the sun was presenting itself from its best side. 55-David was cruising through the streets of their precinct and enjoying the day.

"Let's stop somewhere, I'm hungry," Bosco complained.

"We've just been out here for an hour or so," Faith returned and shook her head. It was a secret to her how her partner could eat all shift and not gain weight at all.

"How 'bout Chinese? There's a new take-out over on Lex."

Bosco looked at his partner, waiting for approval. Yokas knew there was no point in arguing. He would complain all shift until their meal break, so she gave in. In fact, she could use something to eat herself.

"Okay, you won. But YOU pay!"

Boscorelli saluted mockingly.

"Yes Ma'am."

* * *

A frightened looking young woman was coming into the 55th precinct. She looked lost.

"May I help you?" Lieutenant Swersky asked from behind the front desk.

She slowly approached.

"I want to report a murder," she said in a thin voice.

That peeked Swersky's interest even more. He got a pen and paper and prepared to write down what she was saying.

"Who was murdered?" he wanted to know.

"My cat…that's a crime, isn't it?" She looked as if she was about to start crying any second.

"Let's go into my office," Swersky offered and signed her to follow him.

"What's your name and address?" he wanted to know after they sat down.

"Christina Thomas, 4017 Arthur."

He wrote that down.

"Do you know who killed your cat?"

"It was my ex-boyfriend," she replied and tried hard not to start crying again.

"Did you see him do it?"

She shook her head.

"No, but he left her hanging at my front door so I would see it!"

Swersky took notes again before he went on.

"Has your boyfriend…"

"EX-boyfriend! I threw Bruce out two weeks ago."

"Okay. Has he ever threatened you or hurt you physically?" the Lieutenant asked.

Again, she shook her head.

"No…," she had to admit.

"But what about my cat? I know he did it!"

Swersky took a business card from a pile on his desk and wrote something on it.

"This is the phone number of this precinct."

He added another number.

"And this is your case file number. If you call, you tell dispatch this number and they'll send a squad car over to help you, okay?"

She took the card and stared at it for a moment.

"Is this all you can do?" she wanted to know.

Lieutenant Swersky nodded.

"I'm afraid so. If this Bruce ever threatens you or if you feel harassed or otherwise intimidated by him,. I want you to call," he advised her.

"But what about my cat?" she insisted.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Upset, Christina Thomas grabbed her back and stormed out of the office and out of the precinct.

* * *

Officer Maurice Boscorelli left the Chinese take-out and went back to the squad car. Yokas was leaning against the car, waiting for him.

"Fried noodles and a spring roll," Bosco said and handed her the food containers.

They got back in the car and started their meal. After either had about two bites, a call came in.

"55-David, please report to Mercy Hospital," dispatch told them, not knowing she was interfering.

Bosco gave his partner a "why always at meal?" look.

"55-David, 10-4," Faith acknowledged, handed her spring roll over to Boscorelli on the passenger's side and drove off.


	2. Chapter 2

DK was this shift's house watch. He was enjoying the sun sitting on a foldable chair in front of the fire engine, when a dark Toyota sedan pulled up and stopped right in front if the driveway. DK shook his head. This was a yellow marked 'no parking at any time' zone, so he went over to the driver who was getting out of his car.

"You can't park here," the fireman informed him.

"But we need your help…" the driver said and pointed towards the couple in the back of the car. There was a woman in a wedding dress and a man in a black tuxedo, obviously embarrassed.

"What kind of help?" DK wanted to know. But before the driver could start telling, the fireman insisted that he moved the car further down the road.

When they came back, DK had called down Doherty and Lombardo for assistance.

It didn't take long to find out what the problem was: The bride and groom were attached to each other with handcuffs.

"It was supposed to be kind of a joke…," the driver started ashamed.

"The handcuffs were supposed to symbolise the bond of marriage," the groom added.

"But they lost the keys and now we can't get them off," the bride said. Her voice sounded as if she was about to start crying.

DK looked over to Doherty and Lombardo.

"What do you think?" he asked with a slight teasing tone is his voice, that his co-workers understood.

"Let's get the hurst," Lombardo said, looking serious.

"Okay…," DK agreed and led the couple to the back of the bay, while Doherty got the necessary equipment.

"What is the 'hurst'?" the groom asked.

"This…," Jimmy said, holding the over dimensional scissors up, pretending to prepare to cut the handcuffs. But DK held him back.

"No, don't worry, we won't need that," he grinned.

The couple looked surprised and began to join the grinning. It was a joke.

"Guess we look pretty stupid," the groom said.

"Well, we have to thank you for making our day," DK returned smiling.

"I'll get the iron saw," Lombardo said, still smiling as well. This shift started pretty good.

* * *

"You called for us?" Yokas asked when she and her partner arrived at Mercy Hospital.

Nurse Mary Proctor nodded.

"A woman came in here half hour ago. She said she was raped…"

Something in the way the Afro-American woman said that peeked Yokas' interest.

"You don't believe her?" she wanted to know, but the nurse just shrug her shoulders.

"Everyone reacts differently," Mary returned diplomatically.

Still Yokas couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong.

"Where is she?" Boscorelli wanted to know. He wanted to get this over with.

"Exam 3. Rape kit has already been done."  
"Thanks Mary, we'll pick it up on our way out," Faith replied and followed her impatient partner.

* * *

Sullivan and Davis were on their lunch break. Sully just came out from a small deli opposite a shopping center, carrying a paper back with some food for him and his partner. When he handed Davis his sandwich, his eyes fell on a tall, blonde woman running away from the mall.

Two men were running after her.

"Davis, look at that," Sully pointed out.

"Looks like they wanna rob her," Ty concluded and got out of the car to get a better look.

"Stop her, she robbed us!" one of the men yelled.

The unformed cops looked at each other in surprise. That was something they didn't see every day.

The tall woman was making her way towards the squad car, hiking up her dress in order to run faster, exposing a large pair of women's underwear. They were bulkier than normal and Davis could make out a sleeve from a woman's blouse sticking out through the leg opening.

"Hey, Sully, look at THAT!" Davis laughed.

"Should we call it in?" Sully wondered and grinned.

But when they saw that the large baggy underwear stuffed with stolen merchandise slipped down the shoplifter's thighs, they decided to wait.

At that point, the two officers noticed something extra that obviously didn't come from that shop.

"The Lady's a man!" Ty cracked and almost fell down laughing.

Finally, the underwear fell to the ground and the escaping thief stumbled and fell down.

Now it was time to arrest the suspect. While Ty picked up some of the clothing, Sullivan handcuffed the man in drags and pulled him to his feet again.

"You're under arrest, Lady," Sully told him and couldn't get the smirking grin out of his face.

The two men came joining them.

"She robbed us," one of them said again.

"He…," Davis corrected and gave them a "don't ask!" look.

"Whatever…He assaulted me when we tried to hold him for shoplifting," the other man explained.

"And you are…?" Sully asked.

"I'm the store manager, David Henderson. This is one of my salesclerks, Andrew Wells," he introduced them.

"What happens now?" he wanted to know.

"Well, we'll take Einstein here in for robbery and assault."

Sully looked the guy in handcuffs, skirt and blouse over from head to toe.

"And for bad dressing…You are the ugliest drag I've ever seen…"


	3. Chapter 3

The two uniformed officers entered Exam Room 3.

"Ma'am, I'm Officer Yokas, this is Officer Boscorelli." She pointed at Maurice.

"You reported a rape?"

The woman turned to face her and nodded.

"What's your name?" Faith went on.

"Debbie Bellard."

"Miss Bellard, do you know who did this?"

She nodded again.

"My neighbour…Clark Winslow. He…he lives next door…," the woman told them and gave the officers her address.

"You wanna press charges?" Boscorelli wanted to know. He knew that sometimes when women reported rapes, they changed their minds.

"Yes, I of course wanna press charges! That man raped me!" Miss Bellard returned angry.

"Ma'am, we had to ask," Yokas tried to smooth the situation again.

"You need to come down to the station and sign your statement," Bosco informed her and turned to go.

"But take your time. We will pay this Mr Winslow a visit…," Faith added and left with her partner.

* * *

The alarm went off.

"Squad 55, Adam 55-3, residential fire at 1077 Amsterdam."

In less than two minutes, the squad was on its way to the assigned location. As usual, Billy Walsh was directing the fire engine through traffic, lights and siren informing the other participants to make way.

"Watch out!" Johnson yelled when the truck came from the left intersection, making no effort to yield to the fire engine.

Walsh hit the brakes as hard as he could, but it was too late – the truck hit the driver's side of the engine, causing it to spin around like a toy.

After the first shock settled, Johnson turned around to check on his crew.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Doherty sighed and got up from the floor again.  
DK and Lombardo confirmed too, so the Lieutenant turned around to the truck's chauffeur.

"Are you okay, Billy?"

"I'm fine…"

"Doherty, DK, check on the driver!" Johnson commanded and reached for the radio.

"Squad 55 to Central, we've been involved in an MVA, we need a bus on the rush."

"55, are you able to continue your assignment?" a female voice asked.

He looked at the rig.

"Negative, Central."

* * *

"Mom, can I go outside and play with Timmy?" twelve-year old Kevin Brady asked his mother. Irene Brady was sitting at the couch table, sorting through bills and papers.

"You know the rules, Kev…," she said and looked at her oldest son.

"Your homework is done?"

He lowered his head.

"No," he admitted quietly.

Irene shrugged her shoulders.

"Then there's something for you to do," she said and returned her attention to the cheque she was writing.

A half hour later, homework was done and so were the bills.

"Can I go now?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, but take Marty with you." Marty was Kevin's younger brother. Irene knew that the four years older Kevin didn't like to play with Marty in front of his friends, although anywhere else they were inseparable.

"Do I have to?" Kevin moaned.

"Yes, you do. And now go…dinner's at six."

* * *

55-Charlie was out on the streets again, patrolling, when a little skinny guy waved them over. From the looks of it, he had been worked over pretty good. His left eye had a huge mouse under it, his lip was split open and his face was red, with a couple of knots on his head as well.

Sully pulled the squad car over and he and Davis got out.

"What happened to you, Sir?" Davis asked.

"I've been beat up," the man mumbled through clenched jaws.

"I'll say you have…," Sully stated. "Who beat you up?"

"This woman in the Laundromat," the man confessed in obvious pain and embarrassment.

"A woman? A woman did that to you?" Sully wondered, trying to imagine that fight.

"Get in, Sir. We'll get you to the hospital. But first we'll have a stop at that Laundromat, okay?"

The man nodded slightly and climbed into the back of the RMP.  
When they reached the Laundromat in question, they could see several women through the storefront window, doing their laundry.

"Sir, which one was it that beat you up?" Davis wanted to know.

"I don't know," he muttered. "I didn't see her face."

Sully turned around to face the man.

"Let me get this straight: A woman in there beat you up and you don't know which one did it?"

The man was getting defensive.  
"I told you. I didn't see her face!"

Sully sighed.

"Alright then. You and Officer Davis wait here while I go in and find out what happened."


	4. Chapter 4

DK and Doherty were already trying to get the driver out of the damaged truck.

"We need the jaws!" DK yelled and Lombardo immediately went to get it.

Jimmy tried to jerk the door open once more and cried out in pain.

"What's wrong, Jimmy?" DK wanted to know when he saw his colleague holding his right wrist.

"I don't know, it just hurt like hell," Jimmy returned.

"Joe, you help DK, Jimmy get back to the truck. Walsh, you help him till medics get here," Johnson commanded.

When the truck door was open, DK checked the man's pulse.

"No pulse!" he informed the others and with Lombardo's and Johnson's help got him out, immediately starting CPR.

In the distance, they could hear the yelping of an ambulance coming closer fast.

Lieutenant Johnson checked on Doherty. Billy was just bandaging Jimmy's wrist.

"Billy, you're bleeding," Jimmy said and pointed at Walsh's left side of his forehead.

"I want you both checked out!" Johnson said. He suspected that Walsh must've hit his head pretty badly when they crushed into that truck. He didn't want to take any risks.

"Got it, Boss," Jimmy returned, while Walsh finished up the bandage.

* * *

When Officer Sullivan entered that Laundromat, a woman immediately addressed him.

"Officer, we're glad to see you! A man came in here about ten minutes ago, pulled his shirt up over his head and then dropped his pants!"

"He wasn't wearing any underwear, either!" and elderly woman added infuriated.

Sully couldn't help but smile. Yet he got out a pen and his notepad and started taking notes.

"So, what happened then?"

One of the women continued, "Then the man said 'Hey girls, does that remind you of something?' And then Connie said 'yeah it does – looks like a penis, only smaller!' Then she reached out and grabbed him by the hair under his tee shirt and commenced to knock the hell out of him."

Sully looked up, remembering the beat up man's face.

"Yeah, that much is obvious," he returned dryly.

"His arms were up over his head in that shirt," the woman went on.  
"And he couldn't do nothing. It was over in a bout 30 seconds."

Then she added with some satisfaction, "You don't mess with Connie!"

Sully followed the woman's look to a substantial woman in the corner, nonchalantly folding sheets.

'She's right about that! I certainly wouldn't mess with Connie!' he thought, thanked the women and went back to the squad car.

"You're under arrest for presenting your privates in public," he informed the man in the back when he got back into the car.

Davis gave his partner a curious look and Sully told him the story the women had just told him.

"Well, what about the woman in there? Aren't you gonna do anything about her beating me up like this?" the man asked, both embarrassed and angry.

"I thought you told us you couldn't see her face? Davis reminded him while his older partner was preparing to pull back into traffic.

"But if you wanna go back in there and see if you can figure out who it was, we can just wait here," Sully added.

"Uhhh…no…that's okay. Let's just get away from here," the man gave in. He kept starring through the window at Connie, who was still folding clothes.

"Fine with me, let's go!"

* * *

"Congratulations, Mr Doherty! Your wrist is broken," Dr Fields announced when he had a close look at the x-ray pictures.

"Great," Jimmy sighed, still holding an ice pack on top of it.

"But you were lucky, there are no complications, so the cast will be off in 6-8 weeks."

"Great," Jimmy said again. When Dr Fields wanted to leave the room, he stopped him.

"How's the driver?"

The doctor shook his head. "Sorry, there was nothing to be done…Probably a heart attack."

That would explain why he had hit the fire engine.

"Thanks Doc."

"I'll send in a nurse for the cast…"

Ten minutes later, Jimmy Doherty's wrist was covered in a bright white cast when he joined the others in the waiting area. They were spread throughout the area. Walsh was sitting in a corner, a flesh-coloured butterfly bandage on his forehead. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be dozing. DK was having a soda, Johnson was holding a cup with coffee.

Kim spotted Jimmy first.

"Are you okay?" she wanted to know and seemed worried.

"Yeah, broken wrist…," Jimmy returned, presenting his cast.

Nurse Proctor came to join them. She looked troubled.

"Kim, Jimmy…you better come with me! Your son has just been brought here!"


	5. Chapter 5

A woman placed a bottle of red wine onto the counter, followed by some Tequila and a six pack of beer. The woman behind the counter looked at her from head to toe. The female customer was wearing an old pair of jeans and a white tee shirt with the saying "if firemen are busy, call the cops". Her hair was in a ponytail. No way she was over 21.

"May I see your ID, please?" the saleswoman asked suspiciously.

"Sure," the woman returned and handed it over.

The saleswoman calculated the age from that woman's year of birth.

"This ID is a fake!" she said, cause that woman was never already 36 years old.

"You're kidding me?" the woman returned, smiling. How about that for a compliment.

"I'm going to call the police!" the clerk threatened.

"Oh, you just go ahead!" the woman replied. This was about to get funny.

55-Charlie arrived no five minutes later.

"What seems to be the problem?" Davis wanted to know, while Sully drifted off into the soft drink section.

"This woman here wanted to buy beverages, then when I asked her for ID, she gave me a faked one," the saleswoman explained, while the woman in question just grinned.

"What's so funny?" Davis wanted to know, a little irritated.

"That's not a faked ID, I am 36 years old," the woman told him.

Ty asked for the ID card and checked it himself.

"If this is a faked one, it's very good work," he said.

"You wanna see the pics of my kids?" the woman asked, still smiling. She was obviously enjoying this.

Sully came to join them, radio in his hand.  
"55-Charlie to Central, can we have a ID check, please?"

"Go ahead, Charlie!"

Sully gave the dispatcher the woman's date of birth and waited.

"ID in question is legit," the male dispatcher returned.

Davis returned the ID to the woman.

"I told you…But I never had a better compliment in my entire life," the woman grinned and turned to the saleswoman, who was now embarrassed.

"I'm really sorry, Ma'am…," she said, while she scanned in the goods.

"That's okay. Like I said, never had a better compliment…"

* * *

Mary Proctor lead the Dohertys to the Children ICU. Kim's mother already waited there for them.

"Mom, what happened?" Kim wanted to know, worrying about the well being of her only child.

"Joey came home and complained about headache. He had a temperature, so I put him to bed. When I checked on him two hours later, he was burning up. I tried to reach you…"

"We were here…" Jimmy said in a defending tone.

"I didn't know what else to do, so I brought him here…," Mrs Zambrano finished.

Kim turned to get to her son.

"The doctor's are with him now," her mother said, but that didn't matter to the paramedic.

She rushed to Joey's bed and took his hand.

"Mommy's here, baby," she said, trying to comfort him. His forehead felt hot and his face was reddened.

"We're giving him fluids and tylenol to get the fever down," the paediatrician informed her.

"Thanks…," was all Kim could say. She gently stroke her son's head.

"You'll be better soon," she whispered.

Jimmy came in to join her on their son's bedside.

"Hey, champ, how are you feeling?" he asked.

Joey always wanted to be strong when his father was there, to show him he could be a man.

"I'm okay," Joey whispered weakly.

Before Kim could say anything, there was a knock on the glass door. It was Lieutenant Johnson. Jimmy went outside again to meet with him.

"Is Joey alright?" Johnson wanted to know.

"He's got a high fever," Jimmy told him and looked back inside. Seeing how his ex-wife sat by Joey's bed, stroking his hair, comforting him made Jimmy realise how much he still loved Kim.

"I'm calling in a replacement for both of you, so you stay here and take care of the little one," the Lieutenant said. He was a father himself and knew that Kim would be no good at work for the rest of the shift anyway. He turned to go.

"Thanks Lieu," Jimmy returned.

"Tell Joey, the squad wants him to be better ASAP!"

* * *

"Lieu, there's someone to see you," a female officer announced to Swersky who was in his office instead of the front desk for a change.

He was surprised when he recognised the woman behind Officer Crane.

"Miss Thomas! Please, come in and have a seat."

She sat down, her hands nervously fidgeting with the straps of her purse. This time she looked even more scared than at their first encounter.

"What can I do for you?" Swersky wanted to know, noticing her trembling hands.

"He…he has a knife! He showed me today. He was waiting in front of my apartment, and he held it up and said that it would be a present for me soon." Her voice was trembling too.

"What kind of knife was it?" the Lieutenant asked.

"A hunting knife, a real big one. He said it was very sharp…" She started crying.

"Please tell me you can do something!" she begged.

Lieutenant Swersky felt sorry for her.

"Has he told you he would kill you? Did he use those words?"

She shook her head slightly.

"I can't live like this, I'm afraid!"

"Where does he work?" Swersky was developing a plan.

"In a garage on Lennox, Joey's Auto Station," she told him and wanted to know, "Are you gonna arrest him?"

"There's still nothing illegal he's done, I'm afraid. But I will have someone over there to have a talk with him."

The woman stopped crying. "That would be good."

She stood up. "Thank you," she said.

"I'll have a sector car to bring you home, Miss Thomas. When you're home, lock the door. And if he shows up again, you call, okay?"

She nodded and seemed relieved, while Swersky got Officers Gusler and Greene from 55-John for an escort.


	6. Chapter 6

Maurice Boscorelli was directing the white and blue squad car to the address the woman in the hospital had given them. They wanted to have a chat with the alleged rapist. Yokas could still not get rid of the feeling that there was something wrong. She hadn't told her partner yet, because that feeling was nothing more than a hunch and she herself wasn't really sure. She couldn't put her finger on what stroke her as odd. It just did.

They arrived at the apartment building and went inside. There was no elevator, so the two officers had to take the stairs. Thankfully, the apartment of Mr Winslow was only on the second floor. Bosco knocked hard on the wooden apartment door. It took some moments until a handsome young man opened up.

"Mr Winslow?" Boscorelli asked to make sure.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"May we come in? We wouldn't want to discuss this in public…," Yokas offered.

The man stepped aside and let them into his tidy apartment.

"Can I get you anything?" the man asked friendly.

Both officers denied.

"Mr Winslow, we were sent here by your neighbour, Debbie Bellard. She reported that you raped her…"

* * *

Sullivan and Davis came in with yet another collar. The man had tried to rob Sully in a convenient store and that had not improved Sully's mood at all.

""Another one for the "Einstein of the Day" Award," Davis said when they approached the front desk.

"What's the charge?" Swersky wanted to know.

"You mean besides stupidity in public?" Sully returned sarcastically and turned to the perpetrator.  
"Why don't you tell our Lieutenant what you wanted to do?" he suggested.

The man was embarrassed and obeyed.

"I tried to rob that officer…," he admitted.

Swersky looked at him, then at Davis and Sully.  
"You really have an invisible sign somewhere today," he laughed.  
"Stupid thugs, try here."

Davis joined the laughing while he was taking the suspect upstairs to put him in a holding cell while his partner took care of the paperwork.

"Oh, and Sully…someone's waiting for you over there," Lieutenant Swersky pointed out.

Sullivan turned around. His face went soft and he even manages a smile when he saw who was waiting for him.

"Abby!" She approached him and they hugged. When they parted again, the police officer held her by the shoulders and looked at her. Her hair was different and she had lost weight.

"You look good!" he complimented her.

"Thanks," she smiled.

Abigail Sinclair and John Sullivan had met months ago on the subway, performing CPR on a man with a heart attack. They had become more than friends. Then, Abigail had been a victim of a serial rapist and after that, Sully had helped her get out of town and into therapy.

"I want you to meet someone else," Abby said enigmatically and led Sullivan back to the bench where she had been waiting. There was a pram next to it, which Sully only noticed now. Abby reached inside and got out a baby.

"I want you to meet John Sinclair…," she introduced the boy to him.

"He's my son…"


	7. Chapter 7

It was already getting dark and the crew of Squad 55 was anxiously awaiting the temporary replacements for Kim and Jimmy. Alex had called the hospital earlier to get any news on Joey, but so far there were no news.

"I'm wondering if they send us some greenhorns again…," Lombardo sighed.

"Yeah, with egg shells still behind their ears," Walsh added.

"Have we ever been that young too?" DK wondered and laughed.

"Nah…," Joe said and shook his head.

"Excuse me…" they heard a voice by the stairs and gathered to see who it was.

Walsh couldn't believe his eyes.

"Charly?" His face lit up and he went to hug her.

"Hey, Billy," she returned and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" he wanted to know.

The woman got out some papers.

"I was assigned here, heard you were one firefighter short."

A second woman came up the stairs, carrying some papers as well.

"Excuse me, where can I find Lieutenant Johnson?" she asked.

Joe, DK and the others were looking from Billy, to Charly, to the other woman and back to Billy.

Johnson must have heard his name as he came out of his office and joined his crew.

"I'm Johnson," he introduced himself.

"Sir, I'm Sidney Edwards, temporary assigned here, I'm a medic," the second woman told him.

"And I'm Charlene Converse, firefighter."

Billy Walsh looked like a proud uncle or father when he heard that. It seemed the two of them had a history.

Johnson ran his eyes over the papers.

"Well, welcome to the 55," he said and introduced the squad members.

A well known voice came over the speakers and interfered with the introduction.

"Boy 55-3, boy stuck in construction pipe, 3725 Amsterdam…"

Alex put down her coffee mug and addressed Edwards.

"That's us! Let's go!"

* * *

Boscorelli and Yokas entered the station house, the handcuffed Clark Wilson between them.

While Bosco headed straight for the stairs to lock the alleged rapist up, Faith stopped at the front desk.

"Boss, we have a collar for rape," she informed her superior, grabbed some papers and began to fill them out.

Swersky looked at her. He knew her well enough to sense something was not quite right.

"You are not okay with it?" he guessed.

Yokas didn't really know what to tell him, if she should tell her superior about her doubts at all. She felt his eyes on her, so Faith decided to tell him.

"Can you tell why you doubt it?" Swersky wanted to know after she had finished.

"Woman's intuition I guess," she shrugged.

"If you have doubts, talk to the woman again," the Lieutenant suggested.

"Will do, boss. Thanks."

"Anytime," he returned and watcher Yokas get upstairs to meet with her partner.

When he turned again, his eyes fell on Officers Gusler and Greene from 55-John. He signed them to approach the front desk.

"Did you talk to that Bruce guy?" he asked them, referring to the jealous boyfriend.

"Yeah," Alsandra Greene confirmed.

"He said it's all the other way around, that he split up with her and she's the one acting all crazy on him, blah, blah."

"You don't believe him?"

"I don't know, Lieu. He did have some points in what he said. But it's all "he said, she said"."

Swersky looked from Greene to Gusler. The young officer always had been tense around authorities, but there seemed to be something else this time.

"Is there anything else, Officer?" the Lieutenant addressed Gusler.

Steven nervously looked at his partner, then back to his boss.

"Sir…He threatened Miss Thomas…I think."

"You think?" Swersky echoed.

"Yes, Sir. He didn't use those words, though. But I think he will do something to her."

Lieutenant Swersky didn't show, but his alarm bells were already set off.

"Thanks," he said and dismissed the crew of 55-John, who returned to duty on the street.

As soon as they were out of sight, Swersky got out the file on the Thomas case and dialed her number.


	8. Chapter 8

John Sullivan and Abigail Sinclair ended up in a café near the precinct. Sully had asked Lieutenant Swersky for two hours off. And as his partner Davis was okay with being on the streets alone for that time, Swersky had agreed as well. Sully had changed out of uniform and into his civic clothes. He didn't want to have a private conversation in a public space still wearing his uniform.

Now, Abby and Sully were sitting at a table in the back of the café having some coffee. They talked about what had happened since Abigail Sinclair had left New York.

"I found out that I was pregnant shortly after I left. I wasn't sure whether or not to keep it, you know. It's _his_ child after all." She gently stroke her son's arm.

"Keeping Johnny was the best decision I ever made, John. Not long after I had him, I met someone."

Abby returned her attention to the police man opposite of her.

"His name's Tony. He's British. He's been very good to us."

Sully managed a smile.

"That's good," he said and took a sip of his coffee.

"So, what about you? What happened to you?" the woman wanted to know.

"I met someone, too," John started.

"She lived at my building, next door to me and we started dating."

Sully smiled when he thought back to their first date. They had met after his shift had been over and wanted to have dinner at a restaurant. He had played the piano for her. She had looked so beautiful in her dress; he would never forget that sight.

Abby noticed he was talking in past tense and was fearing the worst.

"What happened to her? Did she leave you?"

"Oh, no," John contradicted.

"Tatiana moved in with me. Then 9-11 happened and it made me realise how much I loved her, so I asked her to marry me…"

Abby looked at him, curiously waiting for him to continue. "And?"

"She said yes! And we got married that same evening." He showed her his platinum wedding ring.

"I'm so glad for you, John! You deserved something good in your life!" Abby said and he could tall she really meant it.

John looked at her intensely. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see her again and to hear that things were working out for her as well, but he was wondering why she came to see him after all that time. So he asked her about it, hoping she wouldn't get him wrong.

"I was wondering when you'd ask," she returned, smiling again.

"Johnny is about to be baptised soon and I need to pick a Godfather for him."

She was still smiling when she watched Sully realising where she was going.

"You want me to be his Godfather?" he concluded and was surprised, to say the least.

"I couldn't think of a better person."

Abby reached out and took his hand.

"I don't know what to say…" He was flattered and honoured and tried to keep his voice steady.

"Just say 'yes'."

John Sullivan looked at her and then at the baby that shared his first name.

"Yes…"

* * *

Boy 55-3 with Alex Taylor and Sydney Edwards arrived at the construction site at 3725 Amsterdam Avenue. Officer Davis from 55-Charlie was already waiting for the paramedics. With them was a little boy, not much older than twelve.

When Alex got out of the ambulance, Davis came to join her, the boy in tow.

"Little Kevin here and his friend Timmy wanted to play some ball here. The ball fell into one of the construction pipes and Kevin's little brother Marty went in to get it and got stuck," Ty explained while they went over to the pipes where the boy was stuck in.

"Is he conscious?" Alex wanted to know.

"I've been talking to him, he's stuck pretty good," the officer confirmed.

They arrived at the scene. Alex knelt down next to the pipe, trying to get a look.

"Marty, can you hear me?" she addressed him. All she could see were his feet.

"Yes," he moaned.

"He's getting weaker. Said he couldn't get breath right," Davis told her.

"Marty, I'm Alex. We're gotta get you out in a second, okay? Just hold on a few more minutes, all right?"

A weak "okay" came back.

"Any ideas?" Alex asked, looking at everybody.

"Can we crush the pipe?" Ty asked.

Sidney Edwards shook her head.

"We would hurt him…"

Joey had finally fallen asleep in his mother's arms. She was lying next to her son, also asleep. Jimmy Doherty sat in a chair by the other side of his son's bed and watched them closely. The fever had started to lower about an hour ago. But so far, the doctor's didn't know what had caused it. Jimmy finally decided to call the firehouse to tell them that Joey was getting better. When he got up, Kim startled awake.

"Where are you going?" she wanted to know, her voice sounding tired.

Jimmy told her.

"You need anything from the vending machines?" he added, feeling the urgent need to have something cold to drink.

"Coffee would be good," Kim returned and yawned. She looked at Joey, who was still asleep in her arms. He had scared them good today. His face wasn't as red as before and his forehead had cooled down too. Joey was getting better. And that was all that mattered. Not where the fever came from. Only that it seemed to be over with.


	9. Chapter 9

At the construction site, the crew of Boy 55-3 was still trying to get Marty out of that pipe where he was stuck in.

"We need something to pull him out," Alex Taylor said. The boy was stuck way too far in to grab him. And the pipe was too narrow for any adult to crawl in.

"Marty, we're working on getting you out, okay?" Sidney Edwards addressed the kid.

"Okay." He sounded tired.

"He's not getting enough air in there," Edwards feared. She got up and ran over to the ambulance to get some oxygen.

"See if you can find something long, a branch, a pipe, whatever!" She had an idea that would at least buy them some time. Not a minute later, Kevin came up with a long iron pipe, small in diameter, which was just perfect.

"Will you get him out?" Marty's older brother wanted to know. He was blaming himself. His Mom would kill him if anything happened to Marty.

"We're doing everything we can, okay?" Alex said, striking the boy's head.

Meanwhile, Sidney was working on getting some oxygen to Kevin. She used some bandages to tie a tube onto the small pipe. She opened the oxygen valve and began pushing the pipe towards the little boy.

"Marty, if you can, I want you to grab that tube that is attached to the pipe and pull it off. It will help you breath!" Sidney instructed, while Alex was still trying to think up a way to get him out.

"We need something soapy, so he can slide out again!" she came up with an idea.

"Let's call the Foam Unit," Davis suggested, but Taylor contradicted.

"No, Foam would fill up the pipe and drown him."

"How about cooking oil?" Edwards asked.

Taylor looked at her, then at Davis and Kevin.

"Is there a grocery store nearby?"

* * *

"55-John, please report back to the house," dispatch informed Officers Greene and Gusler.

"Now what?" Greene wondered and made a U-turn.

Lieutenant Swersky was already waiting for them when they came into the station house.

"What is it, boss?" the female officer wanted to know.

"You talked to this Bruce guy earlier…" It was more a statement than a question.

They confirmed that.

"I want you to go by the ex-girlfriend's house. She's not answering her phone. Check if she's okay," Swersky said and the two patrol officers could tell he was worried.

"What if she isn't?" Gusler asked nervously.

"Call me, immediately!"

* * *

Several minutes later, Davis came back with a gallon of cooking oil, as well as Mrs Brady. Ty had her informed by the station while he was out at the grocery store. At first, the clerk in the shop didn't want to help, but when he learned he could save a little boy, he gave in and let Davis take the cooking oil for free.

"Everybody wants to be a hero," Davis thought to himself and shrugged mentally. As long as it made his job easier…

Alex Taylor and Sidney Edwards were already anxiously waiting for the oil. They had gathered several bandages from the bus, the ones they usually used for big injuries. The paramedics wanted to use those bandages to get the oil on the inside of the pipe, around the boy's body so he could slide out again.

"Oh my God, Marty!" Mrs Brady exclaimed when she saw the commotion around that pipe. Her older son Kevin was hiding from her, but it did no good.

"What have you both done?" she asked him, desperately trying to control her anger.

"We played…," Kevin said in a quiet voice and told his mother what had happened, while Taylor, Davis and Edwards used the oil to soak the bandages.

"Will you get him out?" the mother asked when his son was finished. Her face was ashen and she started trembling from fear for her son's life.

"We're doing what we can, Ma'am," Alex said without looking up. They had to hurry. Marty was hardly talking anymore.

They used several pipes from around to get the bandages to deliver their load onto the walls of the pipe.

"Listen, Marty," Alex started and explained to the boy what they were doing.

"If you're ready, try to move backwards. Try to turn back and forth so the oil can work, okay?"

They looked for movement. Marty carefully moved. It worked.

"You're doing great, Marty! Only a few more feet!" Sidney said.

A few moments later, they were able to pull him out of the pipe and place him onto a gurney.

"We're taking you to the hospital, okay? Just to check if you are alright," Alex explained to him while she was placing a breathing mask over his nose and mouth.

"Marty!" Mrs Brady cried and hugged her youngest son.

"You can ride with us, Ma'am…," Edwards said. She helped Alex getting the gurney into the back of the ambulance, then she pushed the doors shut and went into the cabin to get to Mercy Hospital.

* * *

Carlos Nieto was upset, when he came up the stairs of the firehouse. He was soaking wet, it was pouring outside.

"Nieto, where's Parker?" Johnson wanted to know when he saw the paramedic without his partner.

"He's with the bus, it died couple of blocks from here," Carlos explained breathlessly. He was cold and shivering.

"Have you tried CPR?" a woman sitting at the dining table asked. The others chuckled. Carlos looked at the new face.

"And who are you?" he asked, not in the best mood to take jokes.

"Charlene Converse, firefighter," she introduced herself.

Johnson took the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"Have you called maintenance?" he wanted to know.

"That's why I'm here, the radio's gone too and my cell doesn't work either."

Water drops were dripping onto the floor from his hair and clothes, while he took his time checking out Charlene Converse. She was smaller than him, her short red hair fitting perfectly to her blue eyes.

Walsh knew that look.

"Don't even think about it, Nieto!" he warned him.

"You better get maintenance down here, I need both my bus crews!" Johnson ordered, breaking up any possible dispute between his men.

"Yes, Sir," Carlos returned and went over to the phone, but not without throwing one more look of desire over to Charlene Converse.


	10. Chapter 10

Officers Yokas and Boscorelli went straight to Debbie Bellard's room. Faith knocked and waited. When there was no answer, they both went in. The bed was empty and made, the room cleaned.

"What the hell?" Bosco cursed and stormed back to the Nurse's desk, his partner tailing him.

"Where is she?" he demanded to know.

When the nurse on duty looked at him with a puzzled expression, Yokas helped her out.

"The woman from 203, the rape victim from earlier."

Now she seemed to remember and looked something up in a file.

"She was released, about an hour ago," she told them.

The officers thanked her and hurried out of the hospital again.

What we do now?" Bosco asked his partner when they were out at their squad car again.

"We're going back to the house, get all addresses we can get on her and go looking for her!"

Faith looked at her partner and could read in his face that he now seemed to have the same doubts about the rape accusation that she had.

* * *

Billy Walsh was cleaning his dish in the sink when Charlene came to join him.

"I appreciate that you were looking out for me back there," she said.

"Where's the 'but'?" Walsh joked. He knew her well enough.

"But…," she smiled. "I can take care of myself…and specially of him." The woman jerked her head towards Carlos, who was in a chair by the television set, studying.

Walsh smiled.

"Got it."

He finished his dish before he turned to her again.

"How's your Mom?" he wanted to know.

"She's doing good. She actually started working again, in a small restaurant. As a chef."

The firefighter dried his hands on a towel and filled a cup with coffee, offering some to Charlene as well.

"That's great!" He handed her a cup filled with the amber liquid.

"How long has it been now?" he asked although he knew exactly how long it had been.

"Four years next month," Charlene said and her voice became weary.

"Bet Susan wasn't too thrilled when you told her you'd be a firefighter too…"

That remark brought back a slight smile again.

"Why you think I only told her when I was about to graduate?"

She grabbed his arm and squeezed it slightly.

"Thanks for being there, Billy. You don't know how much it meant to me and Mom…"

"Brian would be proud of you…," he said and took Charlene into his arms.

When they parted again, the young woman quickly looked away, so he wouldn't see her watered eyes.

"You're okay, sweety?" Billy asked, trying to make her face him again. She nodded and changed the subject.

"How's your head?"

Walsh shrugged it off.

"You know I got a hard one," he smiled. It wasn't the truth, he had one hell of a head ache, but he didn't want to let her know. She would be worried about him. And he didn't want her to be worried about him.

MacNamara and Lombardo were watching the news while the others were preparing dinner, were working out or were otherwise occupied.

"What seemed to be a normal assignment for New York's Finest, turned into a tragic event for the Fire Department when several explosions took place in an apartment building at Amsterdam Avenue…"

Mac jumped up.

"Guys, you might wanna see this!" he called the others and went to get the Lieutenant from his office.

While they all gathered in front of the television set, the anchor woman went on.

"Several firefighters were injured during this assignment. Police sources said that it might have been a drug kitchen involved, which would explain why the fire got out of hands so quickly…"

"Wasn't that the call we were responding to when the truck hit us?" Lombardo wanted to know.

"Yes…," Johnson confirmed and listened carefully to the woman on screen.

"Captain Jonathan Martin from Squad Company 18 was severely injured during this assignment. Doctors said that his injuries are life-threatening and that they will do everything they can. And now Susan James with the weather forecast…"

Everyone turned to Lieutenant Johnson for some comfort, but he still stared on the screen, not taking any notice of what was being said there. All colour was gone from his face and it seemed to be made of stone.

"Lieu?" DK asked gently.

But without reacting to that or saying anything else, Johnson went into his office and slammed the door shut behind him.

* * *

As soon as 55-David was back at the station house, they talked to their supervisor.

"So you talked to her?" Swersky wanted to know.

"She had been released already. We drove past her apartment on our way in, but she wasn't home. We want to check the files for any other possible locations," Yokas explained.

"Something's not right here," Bosco added, looking out of the glass walls of Swersky's office, watching the alleged rapist.

"Have you talked to him yet?" the Lieutenant wanted to know when he followed Bosco's look.

"Says he didn't do it," Yokas simply said.

"Talk to him again, ask him about where she could be," Swersky told them and left to get back to his front desk duty.

Bosco turned around to his partner again.

"Well, you heard him…let's go talk to Mr Winslow again…"

* * *

A thunderstorm was going over the city, sending heavy rain. Charlene Converse sat by the window at her bunk, watching the jolts lightening the nightly sky. She had never been able to sleep during thunderstorms, but she had always loved to watch them in fascination.

All the other fire fighters were asleep, Lombardo even snoring. Charlene smiled slightly and returned to watch the show of Mother Nature.

While Charlene was kind of enjoying the night, Billy Walsh was caught in his own nightmare. He was shifting positions restlessly, trying to escape those demons that were hunting him.

Finally, a loud roar of thunder jerked him up. It took Billy a few moments to realise where he was. His shirt neck felt clammy and he noticed he was sweating. Cold sweat. He got up and felt nausea coming up. Wow, that nightmare surely had had an impact in him.

He heard thunder again and saw lightening illuminating the bunk room for a split second. He knew that Charlene would be awake as she had never been able to sleep during thunderstorms, so Walsh quietly went over to her bunk, careful not to wake anyone. Having company would be good now, and to maybe even talk.


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey…" Charlene whispered when Walsh approached her bunk.

"Hey," he returned just as quiet and sat down next to her.

"Can't sleep?"

Walsh wasn't sure if he really wanted to talk about it. He sighed.

"Nightmare," he simply said, not facing Charlene's worried look.

She took his hand and squeezed it slightly. It was ice cold.

"You okay?" she wanted to know. "Wanna talk about it?"

Walsh closed his eyes, and for a moment, Charlene could see the anguish in his face, the tiredness and the grief.

"The Pile?" she whispered. He nodded.

"When we were down there," Billy started in a quiet voice, "I heard a PASS alarm, one of our PASS alarms." He made a motion to where usually his breathing mask would be.

"I told the others to be quiet and listen, but I couldn't hear it anymore…"

He tried to get rid of that memory, but he couldn't.

"That sound…it hunts me…I can hear it at night, when it's quiet…I could've found a brother…"

Charlene couldn't think of anything to say, so she just stroke his back in a lame attempt to comfort him.

"You should try to sleep some," she finally said. Walsh looked at her and managed a weak smile.

"You're still caring too much about others…," Billy returned.

"Yeah, it's my fatal flaw…"

"Thank you for that," he added.

Charlene gave him a peck on the cheek and let him lay down on her bunk. The thunderstorm was still going on, so there was no way she would need it anyway.

* * *

The door of Lieutenant Johnson's office was open as always, when Sidney Edwards knocked at the frame.

"Come in," Johnson said without looking up from the report he was reading.

The young medic approached, holding a plate with some sandwiches in her hand.

"We missed you at dinner, boss," she said, but he ignored her statement.

Sidney stepped beside her superior and put the plate down next to him.

"I thought maybe you're hungry…"

Johnson still didn't look up, but he stopped reading.

The woman turned to go, but the Lieutenant held her back.

"Thank you," he simply said.

She stopped on her way out and turned around again.

"You need to eat, Sir," she returned. Sidney Edwards was only on a temporary assignment here, but she had been welcomed like a member of the family, and that meant a lot to her.

"Sometimes, at night…I can still hear it…that roar when the towers came down…," Johnson whispered all of a sudden.

Edwards' stomach tightened. She hadn't expected something like that from her superior.

"I lost some of my closest friends that day…"

Sydney swallowed hard. Everybody had lost friends that day. Tuesday, September 11th.

"Half of the squad I was with before died that day," she whispered and tried to hold back the tears of the painful memories that were forcing themselves back into her brain.

"We lost good men that day," Johnson said in the same quiet voice. He took a deep breath as if that would help him to get rid of all the emotions and memories.

Johnson looked at Sidney Edwards and started to tell her about Captain Jonathan Martin, his friend. Who got injured during an assignment that was actually meant for this Squad.

"We've known each other from even before we went to the academy. I was his best man."

Johnson drew a deep breath to keep his voice steady.

"He survived 9-11 and now this…"

He looked at the young paramedic, his eyes tired, his face stricken with grief and worry.

"I…I can't afford to loose anymore friends…"

* * *

"Squad 55, Ladder 100, Adam 55-3, Boy 55-3, fire in an occupied building at 1773 Lexington Avenue…" the alarm sounded through the quiet firehouse.

Everybody was awake immediately and jumped out of bed and into their pants upstairs while downstairs Lieutenant Johnson acknowledged the call and got into his turnouts.

Charlene Converse pulled herself away from the window and wanted to join the others when she noticed that Walsh was still asleep. She prodded his legs.

"Billy, we have a call!"

He jerked awake.

"What?" He seemed flustered.

"Let's go, we have a call!" Converse repeated and went after her colleagues.

Walsh got up and fought down the nausea again. He ignored his headache and followed the others downstairs.

* * *

Lieutenant Swersky was coming down the stairs when a man approached him. He was about his age, had thinning grey hair and wore a dark suit and a beige coat.

"Can I help you?" Swersky asked him.

"Yes, I'm looking for the two officers that handle the Bellard rape case…," the man said matter-of-factly.

"That would be Yokas and Boscorelli. Can you tell me what this is about?"

"I have some information for them."

Swersky signed the man to follow him upstairs and led him to the officers of 55-David.

Yokas was sitting at a desk that was propped against the wall next to the door while Boscorelli was standing close to the holding cell with his back to the entrance door, talking to the alleged rapist.

Suddenly, everything seemed to be happening at once. The man Swersky had taken upstairs reached for Bosco's gun and managed to fire several shots into the holding cell. The he spun around and held the gun towards Swersky and the others. Another pop indicated another shot fired. All Swersky could do was to pull Yokas away from the desk and cover her. Another shot was fired and another.

Then silence…


	12. Chapter 12

Very slowly, pieces of sound returned. Those who had ducked for cover came back up to look what had happened. Lieutenant Swersky checked on Faith Yokas, who he had covered. She was okay, so he got up and started checking on the other officers. His look fell on who had taken the shooter down.

"You're okay?" he asked him, but the young officer didn't respond. He was still holding his gun up, his hands shaking, aiming at where the man with Bosco's gun had been standing.

"Gusler, are you okay?" Swersky asked again, this time putting his hand on the gun to secure it.

Slowly, Steven Gusler turned his head, realising his Lieutenant was talking to him.

"I killed him?" he asked, not replying to the earlier question. Swersky had a quick look to where the shooter was laying.

"You saved us, son."

A cry made Swersky turn around.

"Bosco!" Faith called out again, hurrying towards her partner, getting down on her knees to check on him.

Bosco looked at her, his eyes wide with fear. He felt he had been hit, he could feel the heat of his blood slowly running down his neck, seeping into his turtleneck NYPD shirt, soaking the collar. He wanted to say something, ask Faith if it looked bad, but all that was heard was a gurgling sound. Fear was coming up from deep down his guts. He couldn't take his eyes off of Faith, whose face was pale and eyes filled with tears. Bosco had never seen her that afraid, so he knew he must be hit bad. He couldn't keep his eyes focused anymore. He couldn't breathe right. The fear tightened his throat like a ligature and the blood loss made him feel dizzy and weak. So that was what it felt like…dying. Silently, Maurice Boscorelli said goodbye to his Mom, his brother Mikey and Faith – everyone who meant something to him – before darkness embraced him.

* * *

Kim was having her 5th cup of coffee. Her mouth felt as if a bunch of fur balls had camped in it. She was tired. Jimmy had finally fallen asleep in the chair next to their son's hospital bed. Joey's fever was still decreasing, but there was still no word from the experts on the origin of it. Occasionally, Nurse Mary was checking in, seeing if they needed anything and to see how Joey was. That meant a lot to Kim. Mrs Zambrano, Kim's mother, was still in the hospital as well, getting something to eat in the cafeteria. Joey was sleeping too.

Kim startled when the door opened and Dr Bailey came in. He was the paediatrician.

"Mrs Zambrano?" he whispered. "Sorry, I didn't want to startle you."

Kim sat up straight in her chair and looked into her coffee mug, disgusted.

"I just came to tell you that Joey's results are back from the lab…"

All of a sudden, Kim was wide awake again.

"And…?"

"We found anti-genes in his blood sample. It seems that the fever was actually an allergic reaction to something. But what we can't tell. We will need some more tests."

Kim turned around to face her son.

"An allergic reaction?" she echoed. She had never seen an allergic reaction like that before, not even at work.

"But those tests…we can do them ambulant. No need to keep Joey here longer than necessary," Dr Bailey smiled.

"You mean…?"

"Yes, you might take Joey home right now…"

* * *

Just as Doc and Carlos were about to follow Squad 55 to their assigned location, they got stopped by a female officer, coming running from the precinct across the street.

"We having a call!" Doc said after he had rolled down the driver's side window.

"There's been a shooting, we have officers down!" the woman yelled.

Immediately, Parker cut the engine and jumped out of the bus while Carlos was already radioing it in. Then they got their equipment and followed the officer inside the station house.

They found Faith and the Lieutenant working on an officer, performing CPR. While Yokas was breathing for the injured, Swersky was rhythmically compressing that man's chest.

Faith looked up when the paramedics entered the small holding cell room.

"Doc, it's Bosco! He's not breathing!" she pleaded, crying, as Doc approached, already wearing his blue latex gloves.

"Go on with the CPR!" Doc ordered while he prepared the necessary equipment to get Boscorelli's heart to work again. Carlos was taking care of the bleeding at Bosco's throat, so he wouldn't loose any more blood than he had already lost.

"Here, press that on the bleeding, but carefully so you won't suffocate him!" Carlos instructed Faith and handed her a blue bag with a transparent breathing mask attached, so she could get up from doing mouth-to-mouth again.

Doc knelt down beside Swersky, who's forehead was sweaty from the work of keeping Bosco's heart going for him. He used scissors to cut Bosco's turtleneck, revealing his bare chest where the paramedic placed electrodes on, while Carlos was returning to one of the red bags and pulled a syringe from it.

"He's in defib!" Doc said while his eyes remained on the monitor. He signed Swersky to continue the compressions and prepared the paddles for the defibrillator.

Tears were running down Faith's cheeks when she watched Carlos entering the syringe into Bosco's arm to start the IV.

"We're loosing him!" Doc stated and waited impatiently for the paddles to be charged.

"Clear!" he yelled and everyone retreated from Bosco's body. The shock went through him, forcing his body into spasms. It was dead quiet in the station house, everybody was only paying attention to what was going on in the holding cell room.

"Still nothing…"


	13. Chapter 13

When the fire truck of Squad 55 made its way through crowded streets, Walsh handled the truck like he had be born just to do that. It was routine. Charlene Converse was nevertheless watching him with growing concern. Even if nobody else seemed to notice, she knew there was something wrong. Since every fireman was not only brave, but also just as stubborn, she knew there wasn't much she could do anyway. Except for keeping an eye on him.

They arrived at the scene only minutes after the alarm had woken them up. Flames had already forced windowpanes out of their frames on their quest for oxygen. There were still people coming out of the front door of the three floor building, some sooty from being close to the flames. The third floor seemed to be the origin of the fire, since flames were coming out of almost every window. Walsh stopped the truck and everyone jumped out.

"DK, Converse, Walsh, start search and rescue on the second floor! Lombardo, start a line and follow them!" Johnson delegated.

When he went back to meet with the crew of Ladder 100, who were directly behind Squad 55, he discovered Walsh leaning against the engine.

"Walsh, something wrong?" he asked.

"No, Lieu, I'm okay, " Billy said and forced himself to do his job. He couldn't let his squad down. Not now, not in the middle of a live burn.

* * *

Bosco opened his eyes. Wasn't he just laying down on the floor of the station house? There was light blinding him and he could swear he could smell the salty air of an ocean. A fog horn sounded directly behind him, jerking him around. There is was: this huge, old ship. People were already boarding it.

"Yo, Bosco!" he heard a voice from a distance. He knew that voice, but couldn't place it. With unsteady eyes he scanned the ship until he discovered a familiar face.

"Caffey?"

Bosco couldn't believe his eyes. Bobby Caffey had been killed almost a year ago, by his crack-head friend. He couldn't possibly…

Maurice felt a gentle urge to go on board of that ship. He wanted to find out what the hell was going on here. Why Bobby could be here.

On his way up the gangway, he saw some other faces that had a certain resemblance with people that were gone already. He spotted that crack-head Jason, who had died while in the holding cell. Boy, Bosco could still hear the angry voice of Swersky. But the investigation had shown that Jason died of a ruptured aneurysm. Then, there was this homeless guy, which they had found stiff as a piece of frozen meat in that dark and cold basement. They had almost lost Doc on that day.

Finally, Bosco reached Bobby Caffey and looked at him. There was no sign of a bullet wound or blood on his clothing.

"What are you doing here, man?" Caffey wanted to know.

Bosco shook his head.

"I don't know…where am I? Am I…?" He couldn't say it. It was almost as if it would come final if he would say the magic word.

"Dead?" Bobby laughed. "Well, not yet…see this?" He pulled a badge from Bosco's uniform. It was marked "V".

"This is a visitors card. So you still can go back."

"Visitors card? What the hell?" Bosco asked confused. Then he got down on his knees, pain jolting through his body like electroshocks.

"Bobby? What's going…?"

Before Bosco could finish the sentence, he felt two arms grabbing him under his and dragging him off board. The scene around him started to spin and move. It was like going through a tunnel with 100 miles an hour.

"I got a rhythm!" Doc almost yelled. After another 3 shocks, Bosco seemed to have decided to stay with them. Faith was crying, part because of the fear of loosing her partner, part because of she was relieved that his heart was pounding on its own again.

"It's looking good, so let's get him out of here!" Doc added and prepared Bosco's unconscious body to be moved onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.

"You can come with us, Faith," Parker said. He knew how much Bosco meant to her.

Yokas got in at the passenger's side and turned to see her partner. His face was pale and red from the blood. The band aid was soaked with blood as well. It didn't look good, but at least he was alive.

* * *

After Boscorelli had been stabilised, Lieutenant Swersky remembered something. He looked for the crew of 55-John and found Officer Gusler sitting on a wooden bench on the floor, his body still trembling. Steven still couldn't believe what he had done several minutes ago – he had killed someone.

Gently, Swersky let a hand rest on Gusler's shoulder. He knew he had to take care of the young officer. No one would have ever imagined that he would be capable of something like this. No one would have ever imagined Gusler being a cop this long. He just seemed too fragile to be a cop. But he had proved them wrong today.

"That was a good shooting if there ever was one," Swersky told him.

Gusler looked up to his superior.

"Will there be an investigation?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"Of course, there always is. It's standard procedure. You will be suspended for two days, but you won't have to worry about anything."

Steven returned his stare to the spot where the body of the shooter had been laying till only moments ago.

"Except that I killed a man today…nothing standard about that…"

Swersky let his breath out audibly and remained silent for a moment until he remembered why he wanted to talk to Gusler and his partner.

"Why were you here? You were supposed to check on Christine Thomas."

"There was nobody home," Officer Greene explained, just coming back from the vendor machines downstairs. She handed her partner a soda can and took a sip of her coffee.

"We tried several times, even had dispatch call her – nothing. And we didn't have probable cause to force entry."

The Lieutenant thought for a moment and felt his concern grow inside of him.

"I want you to go back, take Davis and Sullivan with you."

"What do you want us to do there?" Greene asked suspiciously.

"Get creative," Swersky simply said and turned to go.

"You really care for her, don't you Boss?" Greene asked with an understanding look on her face.

"I've got to get to the hospital."


	14. Chapter 14

Billy had followed his colleagues into the burning apartment building. When they were up on the second floor, he started to regret it deeply. Nausea hit him with brute force and the room started spinning. He had no choice but to rest for a moment and grabbing hold of the nearest wall, so he wouldn't collapse. His headache that he had tried to ignore all day was now almost unbearable. His vision became blurry and his breathing faster.

"Guys?" he said, but his voice was so thin nobody would hear him. Billy knew he needed help. Fast. He needed to get out again. The pain in his head forced him down. The room was still spinning. Walsh grabbed for his radio and already felt unconsciousness approaching. All he managed to radio in was "Help me!"…

"Help me!" came weak through Johnson's radio. Immediately, he recognised the voice.

"Walsh, where are you?" Johnson asked worried, but all he got as an answer was static.

"DK, Converse, Lombardo! Walsh needs assistance, I can't reach him on the radio!" he informed his crew inside.

"Got it, Lieu!" Lombardo radioed in, followed by the acknowledgements of the others.

Charlene had been closest to Walsh, so she turned around and went back the way she had been taking, while outside Lieutenant Johnson fought the urge to get into the building himself to look for his colleague.

* * *

It didn't take long until the brass started to appear in the Emergency Room of Mercy Hospital.

While Swersky was nervously making his way through the waiting area, Faith was watching him. He was making her nervous, so she looked down onto her hands. They were read with blood. Bosco's blood.

"I need to wash up," she mumbled and went to the nearest restroom. On her way there she almost ran over Captain Stick, who was looking for Lieutenant Swersky to find out what had happened.

"Joe, who is it?" the tall, grey haired Captain asked as soon as he spotted the Lieutenant.

"It's Boscorelli, Sir. Two more civilian victims, one the shooter and one alleged rapist in custody. They're both dead," Swersky explained.

"How bad is it?" Captain Stick wanted to know. Although he rarely knew any uniformed officer by their name, Boscorelli always stuck out. Whenever there was an incident report from the 55th precinct, Stick almost expected Boscorelli's name to pop up somewhere in between. And most of the times, it did.

"We haven't heard anything yet. All we know is that he's in surgery." Swersky lowered his head and saw the blood on his white uniform shirt and on his hands.

"We will have to set a press conference. Have the families of the victims been notified yet?"

Swersky shook his head. He hadn't even thought about that so far, so he told his superior 'no'. He was surprised that the Captain seemed so calm this time.

Captain Stick turned around to his aide and told him to take care of it. Then he returned to Swersky.

"Where the hell did the shooter got the gun from?" Stick finally burst out. It was unbelievable to him that someone could get into a precinct full of police men and women with a gun and start a blood bath.

Swersky sighed and told him about what had happened in the precinct. How the shooter claimed to have information about a case and how he had guided him upstairs to meet with Yokas and Boscorelli. And that the gun that had been fired had been Boscorelli's.

"It was my mistake, Sir. I should've known better than to let that man go beyond the front desk…" It was his fault that two men were dead and one of his best officers was struggling for his life.

For now, Stick was ignoring that statement from the Lieutenant and concentrated on finding out what had happened.

"Any idea why the shooter picked the vic?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Sir. I'll have someone look into it," Swersky said, wishing for this interrogation to be over with.

* * *

The smoke was getting darker. It was almost impossible to see anything. Over and over again, Charlene Converse called Walsh's name, knowing other firefighters were doing the same in other areas of the apartment building. There was no response, neither over the radio nor through yelling. The heat finally forced her down on all fours. She had to go back very soon if she wanted to make it out at all.

"Converse, what's your 10-10?" Lieutenant Johnson asked for her location.

"Second floor, about 10 feet from the stairs," she informed her superior.

"Billy!" she yelled again, unable to keep the despair out of her voice. She slowly groped her way into one of the apartments.

"We're losing the building! Everybody out!" a voice came over the radio, supposedly from a Chief on the scene, followed by Johnson's voice again.

"DK, Converse, Lombardo, get out now!"

"But we haven't found Walsh yet!" DK contradicted.

"Billy!" Charlene yelled once again, ignoring the order. They had to find him, she would never forgive herself for letting him die in here.

Suddenly, there was a sound somewhere left of her. It sounded like a PASS alarm, the personal alert safety system, which went off when a firefighter wasn't moving for a short period of time.

The woman groped her way towards that sound until her hand felt something. It was Walsh. He was laying on the floor, obviously unconscious.

"I got him!" Converse immediately informed the others.

"Where are you Charly?" DK wanted to know, already on his way to find them. Charlene retraced her way mentally and told him where she thought she would be. Then her attention returned towards Walsh. His breathing mask was broken, his face already blackened by soot. Converse took of her mask and pulled it over his head. Then she tried to pull him towards the direction she had been coming from, but the body was too heavy. Without the mask, Charlene was even more aware of the heat surrounding her and Walsh, closing in on them. Once again, she tried to pull Walsh away from where he was laying, so they would meet with DK sooner. The smoke burned in her lungs, forcing her to cough.

"Charly? Is that you?" she heard DK's voice through the black smoke.

"DK! We're here!" she yelled over the noise of the fire raging in the building.

"Keep talking!"

Moments later, he found his colleagues.

"We need to get out!" he yelled and helped Charlene to carry Walsh towards the stairs.

When she needed to cough again, DK stopped.

"Where's your mask?"

She told him about it and wanted to move on. But DK took off his mask now and gave it to her.

"Take some deep breaths, and then let's get out of here!"

Sharing his breathing mask, DK and Charlene Converse made it out, carrying a still unconscious Walsh between them.


	15. Chapter 15

The doors of the ER pushed open again and Taylor and Edwards were coming in with Walsh and Converse.

"37 year old male, smoke inhalation, possible head trauma, recovered unconscious at the scene. Pulse is 107, resp 20, B/P 110 over 75," Alex recited when they pushed the gurney with the injured firefighter into the ER.

"23 year old female, smoke inhalation, Pulse 112, resp 18, B/P 102 over 69," Edwards gave the vitals of Converse.

Charlene Converse was walking next to the gurney, holding Billy's hand. She wouldn't leave him. She had trouble breathing, but that she kept to herself because it didn't matter. Billy had to be taken care of first.

"Trauma 3," Nurse Petersen directed them and went ahead. Dr Franklin was already joining them.

"You'll have to wait here," the nurse told Converse and closed the glass doors in front of her.

Charlene wasn't leaving the doors. She watched the doctor and nurses working on Walsh, when she had to cough heavily and tasted blood in her mouth. Then all of a sudden, everything around her went pitch black and she collapsed.

Immediately, several nurses and a doctor were with her.

"Get a gurney!" one ordered.

"She's not breathing!" another said in a worried voice.

"No pulse!"

"Start CPR!" That was the doctor.

And while inside of Trauma 3 Walsh was being stabilised, outside of the trauma room they tried to bring Charlene Converse back to life.

* * *

A woman came into the precinct, her eyes red from crying, her hair untidy. She wore no makeup and only casual clothing. She tried to stop sobbing when she approached the front desk, but the tears just didn't want to stop flowing.

"Excuse me," she managed to say with a shaky voice.

"Can I help you?" Sergeant Belker asked her.

"My name is Debbie Bellard…I was notified that my father was killed here today…"

Two minutes later, Sergeant Belker and Miss Bellard were in Lieutenant Swersky's office. In her trembling hands she was holding a paper cup filled with coffee.

"What happened?" she wanted to know, trying hard to keep her voice steady.

Belker sighed and debated inwardly whether or not he should tell her. This would be the job of the Lieutenant, but Swersky was still at the hospital, waiting for a word on Boscorelli.

"Ma'am, your father opened gunfire on a suspect and several police officers and killed a man, injuring an officer critically," Belker started with a calming voice. To the outside he seemed untouched by what had happened before, but inside of him there was a tornado of emotions whirling. Something seemed familiar about the name "Bellard". The Sergeant knew he had heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite put his finger on for a while.

"Do you have any idea why your father would do that?" he asked instead.

The young woman started to cry.

"It's all my fault," she sobbed. "He didn't rape me!"

And there it hit Belker why that name sounded so familiar. The rape case Boscorelli and Yokas had been working on. The deceased suspect.

"What?" Belker asked again, just to make sure he had heard her right.

"I made it up, Clark didn't rape me!" Debbie cried.

"You filed a false complaint?"

She nodded.

"When I tried to hit on him, he didn't take it…I was angry…I never would have…"

Belker sighed heavily and handed her a handkerchief. Swersky would certainly love to hear this, so he asked an uniformed officer to stand by Debbie Bellard while he walked over to the roll call room to call his superior at Mercy Hospital.

* * *

Two squad cars stopped in front of 4017 Arthur Street and went dark. Sully, Greene and Gusler got out and went up the stairs to Christine Thomas' apartment, while Davis looked for the super to open the door if necessary.

"I had dispatch try again to call her, but still no answer," Greene explained.

Sullivan knocked hard at the wooden door.

"Miss Thomas, here's the police!" he said with a raised voice so it could be heard inside the apartment. They waited several moments. Still no response. Nothing moved inside.

"Maybe she's visiting a friend," Gusler said. But the looks of his colleagues showed what he was feeling inside. Something was very wrong here.

"Don't you need a warrant or something?" they could hear a voice coming from the stairs. It was the super.

"No, Sir, if we have probable cause that someone inside of that apartment needs our help, we don't need a warrant," Davis explained him.

"That's right. And I just heard "Help me!" coming from the inside," Sully said and looked at Greene and Gusler, hoping they would go along with this. Specially Gusler always played strictly by the book, so John was surprised when Steven Gusler backed him up.

"Yeah, I heard it too!"

Davis gently pushed the elderly super forwards.

"Open up," he asked him with a voice that wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. So with trembling hands he unlocked the door and quickly retreated again.

"Thank you, Sir. Now if you would please go back into your apartment. We will let you know when you can do anything else for us."

As soon as the four uniformed officers set foot into the apartment, a sweet yet sickening small welcomed them. Gusler, not being used to that smell, had a hard time keeping his lunch down where it belonged, while his colleagues simply went on with business. If it made them sick to the stomach, at least they didn't show it as clearly as Steven did. While Greene and Gusler started a search in the front part of the apartment with bathroom and kitchen, Sullivan and Davis went into the back where the living room and bed room were.

"Over here…," they heard Sully's voice. He had found Christine Thomas laying on her bed on her stomach. Dried blood had turned the white sheets beneath her red and brown. Sully counted several stab wounds all over her back and legs and knew she was dead, but nevertheless did he feel for a pulse. Christine's body was ice cold. She had been dead a while.

Davis reached for his radio and called for CSU and a medical examiner.

"And contact Lieutenant Swersky at Mercy Hospital. He should better come here fast…"


	16. Chapter 16

Inside the Ladies Room, Faith was still trying to get the dried blood off her hands. She scrubbed and scrubbed although the blood was long gone. Faith didn't know what she would do if Bosco would die. She couldn't even think it. Bosco would pull through, he always did. He simply had to. For her. For his Mom.

Faith looked up from her reddened hands into the mirror over the sink. Her eyes were swollen from crying and her face pale. She looked like hell. Over and over again she saw Bosco laying in front of her, not able to speak. She heard that gurgling sound he had made when he wanted to say something to her. Faith looked down at her hands again. They still felt dirty, bloody. She felt hot tears sting in her eyes and suddenly, she felt sick. Faith hurried into one of the cabins and threw up. She couldn't stop. Every time she saw Bosco in front of her, another wave hit her. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she was able to get up again and returned to the sink to wash her face and her mouth. She looked into the mirror again and felt the tears force themselves out. Faith covered her mouth with her hand as if she wanted to hold the sobs in and sunk down next to the sink, crying, praying for her partner to stay alive…

* * *

About a half hour after Boy 55-3 had brought Walsh and Converse in, Lieutenant Johnson and his crew arrived at Mercy's. The fire was under control, so the Chief had sent them off to check on their colleagues. Mary Proctor spotted them and pulled Johnson aside.

"How are they?" he immediately asked and from the look on the nurse's face he knew there was something going on.

"Well, we still have to wait for the final results of the head scan, but it seems like Walsh has a concussion," Mary started.

Johnson shook his head slightly. He knew that Walsh had hit the driver's window hard in that crash, but he hadn't noticed anything. He hadn't paid attention.

"And about Miss Converse…I fear it's a little more serious with her…"

Mary told them about the collapse in front of Trauma Room 3 and that they had to reanimate her. She had been intubated because her oesophagus had been swollen.

"She's on ICU now. She inhaled a lot of that smoke," Mary closed. Her beeper sounded.

"Sorry I have to go. Walsh is resting, but you can visit him if you like." And off she hurried.

When the crew of Squad 55 went into the waiting area, they were surprised to find Lieutenant Swersky and several other high ranking officers there. It dawned Johnson that this had to do with the reassignment of Adam 55-3 just prior the fire.

"Joe? What happened?" he asked and Swersky told him about the shooting in the station house.

"What are you doing here?" the NYPD Lieutenant asked in return, so Johnson told him.

"Any word on Boscorelli?" Lombardo wanted to know. The bucketboys weren't exactly friends with Bosco, but at least they cared enough to hope he was okay. Teasing Boscorelli had always made their day on slow shifts.

Swersky shook his head.

"But it's serious…," he added and looked anxiously at the nurse coming towards them.

"Lieutenant Swersky?" she asked. When he introduced himself, she gave him a pink piece of paper. Swersky read it and went pale.

"Everything's okay?" Johnson asked when he saw the blank look of the policeman.

"I gotta go, it's urgent," he snapped out of it.

"When Faith comes back, tell her to inform me immediately when she hears about Bosco…"

As soon as Swersky was gone, the NYPD brass moved as well, leaving the waiting area crowded with FDNY only.

* * *

All the way down to the apartment building where Christine Thomas lived, Swersky couldn't help the thoughts of "what if" crossing his mind. He knew he was biased, but it had to be the ex-boyfriend. He had to be the perp. And he would get him for that. That Swersky swore.

As soon as he was up the stairs, the Lieutenant spotted a green-faced Gusler and knew it had to be bad.

"Tell me!" he simply ordered when he reached the young officer.

Steven looked at his superior and tried to say something, but the image was too strong. So he simply pointed inside the apartment where Greene, Davis and Sullivan were. The ME was already present, examining the dead body of Miss Thomas, while Detectives in suits were trying to get in charge. When Swersky wanted to enter the bed-room, Sully held him back.

"It's bad, Boss."

"Any clues about the perp?" Swersky wanted to know, looking past Sullivan and into the bedroom. There she was, laying in her own blood, without privacy now. Being measured, photographed and numbered. For a moment, he wanted to go over there and cover her. And for a moment, Lieutenant Swersky thought he was getting to old for this. Guilt mixed with anger swelled up inside of him when he watched her body for several moments longer before he turned around to talk to Gusler and Greene.

"Bring me that Bruce guy! I want him at the precinct NOW!" he ordered Greene in a louder voice that would have been necessary, implying that Swersky was ready to blow.

Gusler came joining them, holding the yellow "police line – do not cross" tape in his hands. One of the Detectives had ordered him to put it up.

"Ehm, Boss, where shall I put the crime scene tape?" he asked innocently.

Ty instantly raised his hand over his mouth to cover the smirk he was developing while Sully was trying to keep serious next to Davis. He knew that this was all Swersky needed to explode.

"Dammit, you're a cop so start acting like one!" he yelled at Gusler and angrily stormed outside, while Gusler was trying to figure out what he had done wrong.


	17. Chapter 17

Faith startled when the door to the Ladies Room opened. With reddened eyes from the crying she looked up and recognised the face of Nurse Mary Proctor. Immediately, Yokas got up, afraid to ask.

"The surgery was tricky," Mary began and Faith felt her throat tightened. Her hands were clutched. The Afro-American nurse read her body language and instantly smiled.

"No, don't worry! He's out of surgery and awaits full recovery!"

One could almost see the relief falling off Faith's body like rocks. Tears of joy streamed down her cheeks. She stepped forward and wordlessly embraced Mary.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You can go visit him in a few hours, he's still under anaesthesia. Go home and have some rest. I'll call you when he's awake."

Home. The thought hadn't crossed Faith's mind yet. Fred and the kids would know by now that there had been a shooting in the precinct. She needed to call them and let them know she was alright. And that Bosco would be alright too. But she couldn't leave her partner alone, so Yokas searched her pockets for change.

"You can use the phone in the Nurse's room," Mary Proctor offered. "But you really should get some rest too…" She pointed towards the mirror.

Faith had a look. Mary was right. She looked horrible.

"I guess this day was a total waste of make-up," she sighed. When Mary laughed, she joined and let all the tension fall off of her.

* * *

Walsh slowly woke up again. Voices had made their way into his subconscious and made him drift awake. For a moment, he thought he was in the bunk room at the firehouse, wondering why the Lieutenant was up there. But as soon as Billy opened his eyes, he remembered. With a silent moan he carefully moved his head and instantly, the room started spinning again. When the dizziness faded, he could make out Alex Taylor next to Lieutenant Johnson, outside the glass doors of the trauma room.

"Charly needs to stay here a few days minimum," Alex told her superior. "She breathed in some nasty stuff there and needs to be watched for a while. These things can cause severe problems later on. They already had to perform CPR on her here. Smoke poisoning is some dangerous thing…"

Johnson let his eyes wonder off. He was torn between being glad Converse hadn't been following orders and thus got Walsh out alive and being angry with her for not following his order to retreat.

"What about Walsh?" the Lieutenant asked, unaware of Billy being eavesdropping inside the trauma room.

"He's got a concussion, probably still from the crash you had with the rig earlier."

Johnson returned his attention to the blonde paramedic.

"Keep my posted, I'll be upstairs for a few," he said and slowly made his way to the elevator while Alex kept standing in front of the trauma room. Making sure she wasn't paying attention to him, Walsh tried to sit up. What he had heard had troubled him deeply. He needed to check on Charlene, right now. The headache was getting weaker, so whatever they had been giving him here worked. Only the dizziness and nausea still kept him company. Billy had to sit upright for several moments before he dared to put his feet on the ground.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Alex asked with pretended anger, hurrying towards him to keep him laying down.

"You need rest, Billy. Doctor's orders!"

She smiled, but it quickly faded when she saw the look on his face.

"You heard us, huh?" she asked and Billy nodded.

"I have to see her," he just said and tried to get up again, but Taylor gently pushed him back into the cushions.

"You're not going anywhere on your own legs at the moment!" she said determined and signed him to stay where he was. "I'll be right back!"

She hurried off, only to return less than a minute later, pushing a wheelchair.

"You're transportation is waiting, My Lord," she said mockingly and pointed into the chair, trying to get a smile from her colleague. And it worked.

"Thank you, My Lady," Walsh returned smiling slightly. Ales helped him into the wheelchair, careful not to rip off any of the tubes from the IV.

"Next stop, Charlene Converse's room."

As soon as they were out of the room, DK spotted them and soon enough, Walsh was surrounded by his colleagues who had been waiting to visit him.

"You scared us good, bro!" DK chastised him.

"Thanks for getting me out, man," Walsh returned and felt a stab of guilt inside his guts.

"Charly saved your ass! We were on retreat when she found you. She gave you her mask cause yours was broken," he told him.

Walsh tried to smile slightly to keep up the façade, but inside of him he felt his stomach tighten. He felt sick. If it hadn't been for him, Charly would be okay. She had to be revived because he had been so damn stubborn to ask for help.

* * *

It was quiet in the ICU room, except for the steady beeping of the heart monitor and the sounds of the respirator machine. Johnson's stomach tightened when he saw his best friend in that room, tubes going in and coming out of his body, hardly recognisable as the man he knew almost his entire life. Now he found himself standing in the doorway of the room, hardly able to talk.

"Annie?" he gently said after all, but it didn't really sound like his voice.

The woman by the bed turned. She looked tired and worried. She knew her husband was going to die, it was only a matter of time.

"Francis!" she exclaimed, hurried over and hugged him.

Johnson held her tight and could feel her trying not to start crying.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, well aware that his friend was dying because his company had had that accident and hadn't been able to continue to their assigned location.

They parted again.

"How are the kids?" Johnson asked gently, referring to her son and the soon-to-be-born baby.

"Frankie keeps asking when his Dad comes home…and I don't know what I'm supposed to tell him…" Now she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. Lieutenant Johnson wrapped his arms around her again.

"I'm sorry this happened," he said again in a whisper.

"If there's anything I can do…"

But before Mrs Martin could say anything, the heart monitor started beeping fast and faster, before it finally showed a flat line.

"What's happening?" the woman wanted to know, confused and terrified. She had dreaded this moment and yet there had been nothing she could have done to avoid it.

Johnson guided her out of the room when several doctors and nurses came hurrying in.

"He's dying…" he whispered and drew the Annie close to him, watching with little hope how the doctors and nurses did their best to keep John Martin alive. But after 20 minutes of trying, they drew back from Captain Martin's body.

"Time of Death…" was all Annie could hear before she cried out all her pain and despair…


	18. Chapter 18

The phone on his desk rang and stopped Swersky in his tracks.

"What now?" he cursed and didn't hide his mood when he answered it.

"Boss, it's me." It was Faith Yokas from the hospital. Swersky sat down waiting for the bad news.

"Bosco's out of surgery and they expect a full recovery," she told him and could hear her superior sigh in relief. She knew how he felt. Even if her partner was more often than not a pain in the ass, Faith knew Swersky cared for him. Sometimes she thought that he was only angry with Bosco because he reminded the Lieutenant of his younger self.

"That's good news," Swersky managed to say and couldn't keep a slight smile from forming in his face. But it faded and made way for his anger again as soon as he spotted Sullivan and Davis coming up the stairs, followed by the ex-boyfriend of the murdered Christine Thomas and Officers Greene and Gusler.

"I gotta go," he said absent minded into the hand piece of the phone and let it sink down onto its cradle again.

"Easy, Joe…you have no proof," he tried to calm himself and control his anger, but little did it help. The image of the frightened Christine Thomas came into mind, the way she was fidgeting with the straps of her purse when she had told him about the knife and how he had told her there was nothing they could do. He knew then she was afraid for her life and wished he could do more. But all he had been able to do was send 55-John to talk to that Bruce character. Swersky saw the mutilated body of Miss Thomas before his eyes again. What if he was responsible for that? Had that talk triggered the murder? Could she still be alive if they hadn't pushed him? Was is his fault she was dead?

With a sigh he pushed the doubts away for now. He needed to be clearheaded when he talked to the suspect. So he followed his officers into the holding cell room, well aware of what had happened here earlier. Bruce was already in one of the cells, so Swersky gathered his men around him.

"Yokas called, Boscorelli is out of surgery and awaits full recovery," he told them what she had told him only minutes before. A collective sigh of relief went through the small group.

"What do you want us to do with this pal over there?" Sully asked, well aware of the answer.

"You question him. Greene, Gusler, you get back on the street," Swersky said.

When they nodded in acknowledgement and wanted to go, he added a quick "thanks" and let them return to their duty.

* * *

Slowly, Alex Taylor pushed her colleague's wheelchair towards Charlene Converse's room. Walsh signed her to stop in front of the glass window next to the door. Her face was pale and she was still intubated, but not connected to the respirator anymore. Her left arm was attached to an IV that was hanging from a post next to the bed. It hurt Walsh to see her like that and he had to swallow down the lump forming in his throat.

"I promised her father to take care of her," he croaked without taking his eyes off her.

Alex gently put her hand onto his shoulder and squeezed it slightly.

"Whenever you're ready…," she whispered.

Billy raised his hand and met hers. He slightly squeezed her hand in return.

"Thanks," he just said and let her wheel him in.

Charlene's eyes were closed when Walsh and Taylor approached her bed.

"I'll wait outside," Alex whispered, knowing he wanted to be alone now.

Billy couldn't take his eyes from Charlene's face when he moved forward to take her hand into his. It was cold. He remembered his talk with her only a few hours ago. He should have told her. Ever since she was a little girl, she had been able to see right through him. A little smile formed on his lips when Billy remembered the little girl with the long blonde hair and glasses. It was hard to imagine that this little girl from his memory was now grown and a firefighter, just like her father and himself. Almost four years ago, Brian Converse had saved his life. Tonight, Charlene Converse had done the same. And while Billy held her hand and looked at her pale face, his mind drifted off to the night Brian Converse had died…

_It had seemed like a simple call. Fire in an abandoned warehouse. Squad 51 had been assigned to assist. Since the building had been prepared for demolition, they started search and rescue for any missing workers. The structure of the warehouse had been weakened to make it easier, so the firefighters had to be particular careful where they tread. Walsh and Converse had been one team and were assigned to search the second floor, the floor above where the fire had started._ _As usual, they had stayed together and searched the floor for trapped people. Suddenly, Walsh had felt a crack below his feet. All he had been able to do was moving forward when the floor underneath him had collapsed. He hardly had been able to hold on to the edge of the floor, where Converse had appeared and with all his strength pulled him up on solid ground again._

"_We better get out of here, NOW!" Converse had ordered. Walsh had only nodded and willingly went first. Converse had thrown one last look around the area and finally had followed his colleague._

When the two firefighters had arrived on the first floor, there had been a huge rumble and when Walsh had turned around, Brian Converse had disappeared…

They had found him, hours later after they had finally defeated the fire, but it had been too late. Brian Converse had died…

"I'm sorry, Charly…I'm so sorry.…"

* * *

Depressed, the squaddies made their way upstairs. They were dirty, exhausted and still worried about their colleagues. Lieutenant Johnson hadn't said a single word since they had left Mercy Hospital, but Lombardo and the others were sensing there was something still to come. And they were soon proven right.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Lieutenant Johnson almost shouted at DK angrily as soon as they had reached the squad room.

"I wanted…!" DK started, but fell silent instantly again when he looked in Johnson's face.

"When I order you to get out, you get out!"

It was dead quiet in the squad room. Neither of the firefighters and paramedics had ever seen their superior this infuriated.

"I'm responsible for this squad and if I can't trust my crew to follow orders…" He left the sentence unfinished.

DK looked down at the floor. He wasn't able to face Johnson or say anything to defend himself, because in his heart he felt the same. They could all have died tonight.

"I almost lost another 3 friends tonight!" Johnson added and without looking at any of the others, he went into his office and shut the door behind him.

For several moments, no-one spoke. DK felt like a little boy who had just been lectured by his principal.

"I couldn't leave them behind…" he finally whispered breaking the silence.

Alex got up and went over to him.

"We know that. And Lieu knows that too…"

"What did he mean with 'another' 3 friends?" Lombardo wanted to know.

"Captain Martin died tonight…," MacNamara told them. He had overheard a conversation at the hospital between nurses when he and his colleagues had been waiting for news on Walsh and Converse.

"Damn…" DK cursed. That explained why Johnson was so angry.

Quietly, the door to the Lieutenant's office opened and Johnson came back out. He went straight to DK.

"I'm sorry…," he apologised. He knew DK had nothing to do with his outburst.

Johnson turned to the others who looked at him with worried faces. With their looks they let him know that they knew.

"If there's anything we can do…," Parker stated sympathetically.

"I will hand in my resignation first thing in the morning…," Johnson let them know without reacting to Doc's offer and returned to his office, leaving a shocked and dumbfounded crew behind.


	19. Chapter 19

Swersky stood in one corner of the holding cell room, watching Sullivan and Davis trying to get a statement out of Bruce.

"You threatened to kill her, even in front of cops – that's not a smart move, pal!" Sully let him know.

"I didn't do anything to her!" Bruce insisted, looking uneasily towards Swersky. The sheer presence of the Lieutenant seemed to scare him.

"Then why should she be scared of you?" Davis now wanted to know, moving into the view between the suspect and their superior.

"I don't know! She was a crazy bitch!" he replied, not aware that he was raising his voice to make his point.

"She looked perfectly sane to me when she came here," Swersky stepped in, his arms folded across his chest when he approached the cell. He had enough of that crap and Sullivan and Davis could read it in his face.

"She seemed sane, but scared to death. Why would she be afraid for her life when you never did anything to her?" he demanded to know.

"I don't know!" Bruce insisted again, almost yelling.

"Why are you so upset, Bruce? Are we hitting a nerve?" Sully calmly asked. The man in the cell fell silent and from that moment on, Sullivan and Davis shared the certainty of their superior. He had killed his girlfriend. All they had to figure out now was the why.

Another uniformed female officer walked in, handed Swersky some folder and headed out again. The Lieutenant opened the folder, read what was written inside and put it onto the table.

"You're full name is Bruce Aloisius Stargher?" Swersky asked matter-of-factly.

The man in the cell nodded, wondering why he would ask.

Swersky signed Sully to open up the cage door, without offering any explanation.

"You're under arrest," Swersky said and had him handcuffed.

"But what for? You can't prove anything!" Bruce yelled, trying to fight off the cuffs.

"We just got your record, pal! You have an outstanding warrant for unpaid parking tickets," he explained. He wasn't satisfied with that, but it was a start.

"Hey, boss, didn't that sound like an admission of guilt?" Sully asked with a slight smile.

"Just get him out of my sight…Let the DA deal with this scum…"

He watched them guiding Stargher downstairs and sighed. He was getting to old for this. So he made a decision and went to his office to do it.

* * *

Boy 55-3 with Alex Taylor and Sidney Edwards parked just outside the firehouse. They were running late and still needed to change. Upstairs in the bunk room, Charlene Converse was buttoning the jacket of her dress uniform, making sure everything was neatly in place. Edwards and Taylor hurried to get changed, so they could leave in time.

"You know you don't need to do this," Charlene heard Walsh say behind her and turned to face him. "You're still on medical," Billy let her know unnecessarily.

"Yes, I do. And you are on medical too," she contradicted in a whisper. Talking still hurt, so she tried to avoid it whenever possible. She had only been released from the hospital this morning and only on the promise that someone would be there to monitor her. There was still the possibility of lung damage. The same was true for Billy. He still needed to recover from his concussion, so for now Charlene was staying with him and his family.

The woman looked at Walsh and approached him to straighten his tie. They looked at each other. The memories of Brian Converse's funeral were still vivid, although it had been almost 4 years ago. Billy closed his arms around her when he saw the pain in her eyes sparkling for a moment.

"I thought I had lost you," she whispered and let her head rest against his shoulder.

"You scared us good too," Walsh returned and kissed her on top of her head.

"Okay, let's go!" Alex said and grabbed her jacket. Walsh and Converse parted again and together, they went downstairs to meet with the others.

It was the day of the funeral of John Martin, Captain of Squad 18, who had died days earlier. Neither of them had known him, but they all felt it their duty to pay their respects to a fallen brother by attending this funeral.

Downstairs, Lieutenant Johnson was changing into his dress uniform as well. With every time he had to do it over the past few months, it took him longer. It was as if his body was struggling against it. He took his hat and turned to join his crew in the squad room. But in the doorway, he stopped. Every member of Squad 55 was in their blues, even the temporarily assigned Converse and Edwards, who were just coming down from the bunk room. Johnson felt pride rising inside of him. This was his squad, the best in the whole city. His family. He would miss it, once he had retired from active duty.

* * *

The sky was perfect blue. Not a white spot to be seen. The sun was rewarding the inhabitants of New York for their patience. An old church was rising against the blue sky, its stone towers in harsh contrast to the background. John Sullivan was nervous. He sighed and once again looked at the wooden church doors that were openly inviting him in. One last time Sully looked over his dark blue suit, his bordeaux coloured shirt and dark blue silk tie. He still couldn't believe it that in a few minutes he would be the Godfather of a small child. John knew about the responsibility, that he was supposed to care for the kid in case there should ever happen something to its parents. A smile formed itself on Sully's face when he remembered how Ty Davis, his partner had reacted. And soon the whole precinct had known. They had collected some money for a present, but Sully had decided it would be better to open up a fund for the child instead. So now, he stood in front of that church, a small teddy bear in police uniform in his arm. When Davis had seen that little furry fellow, he had bought it for the boy.

"Are you gonna stand here all day or do you plan to go in?" he suddenly heard a voice behind him and jerked around. It was Abigail Sinclair.

"I thought you were inside already…," was all Sully managed to say.

"You're not gonna chicken out now, are you?" Abby wanted to know with concern.

Sully smiled reassuringly and gave her a welcome hug.

"No, don't worry," he said and gave her the teddy.

"It's from my partner," Sully explained and also told her about the collection and the fund for her son.

Her eyes watered and she quickly looked away. This was more than she had hoped for.

"Thank you," was all she could say while she tried to keep the tears down.

"I knew I chose the right Godfather for Johnny…"

Sully put an arm around her shoulder.

"Shall we?" he asked and when Abigail nodded, they went into the church together.


	20. Chapter 20

Bagpipes were playing while two members of Squad 18 were folding he American Flag into triangular shape. Clouds were darkening the sky, as if it was mourning too. Mrs Martin was holding her son's hand, trying to be strong for him while her husband was laid to final rest.

The priest was citing the "Fireman's Prayer":

"When I'm called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage, give me the strength to save some life, whatever be its age."

One of the members folding the flag was now walking over to Mrs Martin and her son, presenting the American flag to them, taking one step back and saluting.

"Help me embrace a little child, before it is too late. Or save an older person from the horror of that fate."

Lieutenant Johnson couldn't help to imagine how it would be if it was him laying in that coffin that was now lowered into the earth. He imagined how it would be to leave his wife and daughters behind.

"Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout, and quickly and efficiently to put the fire out."

Johnson felt the hand of his wife in his and knew she was sensing what he was thinking. And he was grateful for her being there with him.

"I want to fill my calling, and to give the best in me, to guard my every neighbor and protect his property. And if, according to my fate, I am to loose my life, please bless with your protection my children and my wife."

It was until now that Mrs Martin could hold her tears down, but it was too much. She drew her son close to her and wept.

* * *

Captain Stick was sitting at his desk in his office, his eyes again and again flying over the typed words of the letter he was holding:

"As of the end of this month, I wish to be relieved of my duties as a Lieutenant for the NYPD. Due to several incidents in the last few days I find it impossible to further stay a member of this precinct. Please respect my wishes, signed Joe Swersky, Lieutenant 55th precinct."

He heard a knock at the door and quickly put the letter down. It was Lieutenant Swersky, the Captain could see that through the tainted glass door.

"Come in."

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"Yes. Have a seat."

When the Lieutenant was sitting down, Captain Stick straightened up and looked at him with sympathy.

"It's been a rough few days," he said.

"You can say that again," Swersky returned with sarcasm in his voice. He was guessing what this meeting was all about.

"I'm gonna be straight with you, Joe. I won't accept your resignation."

Swersky's face hardened.

"With all due respect, Sir, but you have no right to do that!"

Stick face didn't move at all. It was impossible to read what he was thinking.

"Cut that crap, Joe! We've known each other far too long for this," he returned calmly.

"Why don't you tell me why I should let you go?"

Swersky looked at his superior as if he was from a different planet. Yet the anger inside of him faded away. He sighed and pointed towards the white sheet of paper lying on the desk, carrying his signature.

"It's all in there."

"I know, but I want you to tell me anyway," Captain Stick told him, managing a sympathetic smile. He wanted Swersky to voice what was eating him up so much inside that he wanted to quit the job he loved.

"It's plenty of things, boss. I'm just getting to old for this," Swersky began, his eyes focusing on a imaginary spot on the floor.

"I am responsible for the shooting, I let the man upstairs. I never do that, I just had the feeling he was kosher…" Images from that day flooded into Swersky's mind again. Bosco lying on the floor dying; Faith and him trying to revive Bosco; the dead body of an innocent man in the holding cell and the shooter lying on the floor with a hole in his chest from Officer Gusler.

A terrified Christine Thomas fidgeting with the strings of her purse while she told him she was afraid for her life. The face of her ex-boyfriend Bruce in the holding cell, telling them he didn't do anything to her. The mutilated body of the poor woman on her bed.

Swersky closed his eyes in anguish, trying to get rid of those images that haunted him since that day.

"What's going on, Joe?" Captain Stick finally wanted to know.

Lieutenant Swersky opened his eyes again and started telling his superior about the images, that have been hunting him.

* * *

Quietly, the squad members made their way upstairs. Lieutenant Johnson stayed down alone, to take it all in one last time and also to get his mind away from the funeral again. He listened to the fading sound of feet on the stairs and when they were gone, Johnson leant against the squad and quietly said goodbye. To his friend and to his squad.

Upstairs, Carlos put his dark blue hat and the white gloves onto the kitchen counter and sighed.

"I wish he wouldn't do it…"

"Hell, what do you know…," Walsh mumbled when he passed Nieto to get some coffee.

"Yeah right," Carlos returned sarcastically and turned around to face Walsh.

"What the hell do I know anyway! He's our LT too, you know. I'd hate to see him go, but it's his life, his choice! If he wants to quit, then _we_ of all people should respect that! It's his decision to make, not ours!"

For a moment, there was silence. Deep inside their hearts, they knew Carlos was right, but they didn't want to let go that easily.

"Firemen never leave a brother behind," MacNamara whispered, his eyes focused onto the floor of the firehouse. Everybody startled when DK pushed the chair back with a squeaking sound when metal moved on wood.

"You're right, Mac! We don't!" DK agreed, got up and headed towards the stairs that led downstairs. All heads turned towards him.

"What are you up to?" Joe Lombardo wanted to know stopping DK in his tracks.

"I don't know yet, but whatever it takes to keep Lieu here!"


	21. Chapter 21

Slowly, sounds and smells made it into his conscious again. The smell of disinfecting agents were heavy around him, and there were voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying. Something was at his hand, so he forced himself to finally open his eyes.

"He's awake!" he heard a familiar voice next to him.

Slowly, Maurice Boscorelli turned his head and saw his partner sitting next to his bed, smiling.

"Hey," she said. "Welcome back."

Bosco wasn't sure what he was doing in a hospital bed. He looked at Faith with a questioning expression on his face.

"Don't you remember, Bosco? There was a shooting in the station house. You were shot."

Remembrance dawned.

"Bobby…" Bosco managed to say.

"Bobby?" Faith echoed. "Who's Bobby?"

"Medic…"

"You mean Bobby Caffey? He died, don't you remember?"

Bosco turned his head away from Yokas and stared at the ceiling. So that was it. The bright light at the end of the tunnel they had described when they came back from the dead. He had been dead.

A tear formed in his eye and rolled down his cheek. He remembered when he was driven out of his body, how Faith and Swersky had tried to keep him alive.

"Thank you," Bosco croaked. "For being there."

There was a moment of silence where neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Faith broke the silence again.

"Swersky wants to quit," she simply said.

"What?" Bosco didn't believe his ears. That couldn't be.

"I overheard Captain Stick. So far, it's not official, but Lieu has handed in his resignation, so it seems."

Bosco thought for a moment. That simply wasn't possible. He couldn't just leave. A different Lieutenant would never let him get away with as much as Swersky did.

"Can you imagine Christopher as LT?" Faith voiced her thought and shuddered.

"Let me talk to Swersky," her partner told her.

"You think that's a good idea?"

"Just let me talk to him."

* * *

When Johnson heard footsteps on the stairs, he quickly regained control over his emotions again before DK reached the bay.

"You okay, boss?" he wanted to know when he discovered his superior alone by the engine.

Johnson looked out and at the sky.

"I think it's gonna rain soon," he said, not replying to DK's question.

"That was a nice funeral," the firefighter stated, following Lieu's look outside.

Johnson nodded slightly.

"You won't leave till I tell you, right?" he finally sighed.

"Brothers, Lieu, remember?" DK said, pointing out to the others in front of the stairs.

The Lieutenant turned around and saw them all standing in front of the stairway, most of them still wearing their full dress uniform. It was a touching view. He would really miss this bunch of pals.

"I just can't take it anymore…" Johnson started and let his blue eyes wonder out again through the open gate.

"We made it through so much together, we will make it through this," Walsh said from the stairs.

The Lieutenant turned around to meet the eyes of his friends. His voice was warm, but his face tired.

"I appreciate the thought, but you can't help me with this," Johnson sighed again. He needed to tell them, let them know he wasn't leaving because of them.

"It's Ruth. And the girls…I can't stand the fear in their eyes anymore, I can't stand to hear the relief in their voices when I call home to let them know it had been some other firefighter who got injured. Or killed. I just can't…"

He remembered the pain of Mrs Martin again when they had watched her husband die. He didn't want his wife and daughters suffer through that.

"I just can't do that to my family anymore…" Johnson said and slowly went past his colleagues to get to his office again, receiving comforting pats on his shoulders. He wasn't just leaving the squad, Lieutenant Johnson was leaving his second family.

* * *

55-Charlie was on patrol again. After the happenings of the last few days, both were hoping for a quiet shift. While Sully was concentrating on the driving, Davis looked out of his window, watching the people flying by. It was raining again and that wasn't improving their mood either. So finally, Ty decided to start a conversation to cut the silence.

"So, how does it feel to be a Godfather?" he asked his partner with a slight smile playing around his lips.

Sully couldn't help but smile as well when he remembered the beautiful baptism ceremony the day before. He now had the responsibility for a child.

"It feels strange. I know that for now, I don't have much to do, but if something should happen…I'll have a child to care for," Sully replied thoughtfully.

"And before I forget, Abby says thanks for the bear."

Ty grinned. "Kids love teddy bears."

"You would know," Sully said and reached over to touch the ear of his partner.

"Hey! What's that supposed to be?" Davis wanted to know, trying to fight him off.

"I just wanted to check if you're finally dry behind your ears! You know, I can't take care of two kids," Sully mocked him and laughed.

"Just drive!" Davis said in a tone as if he was pouting. But in fact, he couldn't help but join the laughter of his older partner.

* * *

Ruth approached the armchair her husband was sitting in. He hadn't spoken a single word since he got home. He was just starring outside the window, watching the rain drops making their way down on the pane.

"You really want to quit?" Ruth asked when she was beside her husband.

"Who told you?" Francis asked, already guessing the answer.

"DK called earlier. He told me."

She stepped closer to face him. Her eyes read sympathy and something else, Johnson needed a moment to figure out. Then he could make it out: it was hope.

"Do the girls know?" he asked, again watching the rain outside.

"Yes, I've talked to them."

Silence was heavy for a moment, only cut by the rain drops hitting the window. Ruth took her husband's hand and sat down on the armrest of the chair.

"Honey, we love you very much and yes, we would be glad if you would stay home and do something else. But don't quit being a fireman because of us. Do it because you want to. This," she pointed at his uniform he was still wearing, "this is what you are and we love you one way or the other."

Johnson looked at his wife, reached out and drew her close.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" he whispered and smiled slightly. He had made a decision already. And it was good to know he people he loved supported him. He couldn't leave the squad. His squad.

"I love you too, my hero," Ruth replied and bent down to gently meet her husband's lips for a kiss.


	22. Chapter 22

Maurice Boscorelli was uneasily shifting his weight, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He couldn't wait for the doctors to send him home, but since they had to repair several blood vessels during surgery, they wanted to keep him a few days longer.

"Just a precaution," Dr Goldstein had said earlier that day.

Bosco sighed once again. He had got used to the hospital sounds that went on all day and continued through the night, only a little more quiet than at daylight. But the bandage around his neck and the pain certain movements were still causing made it hard for him to get rest.

A knock on the door startled him, making him cuss his neck injury once again. Bosco slowly turned around again to see who the visitor was. Surprised, he sat up when he recognised the familiar face of his superior, Lieutenant Swersky. Bosco signed him to come in.

"Hey boss," he greeted him, the voice he used still not sounding like his again yet.

"Boscorelli," Swersky returned.

"How are you doing?" he wanted to know, trying to erase the last image he had in mind of his officer. It was good to see him alive and obviously better.

"I'd be better once they let me out of here," Boscorelli replied and managed a smile.

"You wanted to see me, Boscorelli?" Swersky asked, still wondering why he had requested him to come here.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my life," Bosco said. "Faith told me what you did."

That was a lie. Faith had never told him anything about what had happened in the station house after he had got shot. Bosco had witnessed it himself when he had been out of his body. But he would never let anybody know that, not if he didn't want to spend some time in the nut house.

Swersky waved it off.

"You would've done the same for me."

For a moment, there was an awkward silence between them until Bosco spoke again.

"Faith also told me you wanted to quit…"

Swersky hung his head, avoiding Bosco's eyes. It was impossible to keep something a secret at the precinct. Somehow he guessed that Captain Stick wasn't all innocent to this. He probably let slip out a word or two about the resignation.

"I can't do this anymore, Bosco," Swersky justified his decision rather unconvincingly. "I had never made a mistake like this," he added referring to the shooting.

Bosco tried to sit more comfortable. He knew he had to talk Swersky out of this. If the Lieutenant quit, Sergeant Christopher would probably take over and that would be Bosco's last day at the 55th precinct. Christopher hated his guts, despite Maurice's efforts to come clear with him.

"Boss, you can't go. It wasn't your fault! What are you, a damn mind reader? There was no way you could've known that man had a gun and wanted to use it too."

Somewhere deep inside his heart, Swersky knew Bosco was right. He couldn't have known. He had made a judgement call. It had been a bad one. Things like that happened. Inside of him, he felt a flower blossom. And it grew with every second he sat there next to Maurice Boscorelli, the one officer that he could kill most of the time but never did.

"You are the only one beside Faith who can handle me," Bosco tried to smile, but didn't when it made his neck hurt again.

"God knows why I do keep up with you…," Swersky sighed and slightly shook his head.

"Please, boss…don't let Christopher let take your place!" It was meant as a joke, but it sounded rather desperate.

"He's a jerk, isn't he?" Swersky smiled when Bosco rolled his eyes.

"Why do you keep up with me anyway?" Bosco was all serious again. He could never figure out the "why". After all the crap Bosco had done in the last few years, it was a wonder he still wore his badge. Swersky had protected him more than once. And Bosco never knew why.

"This stays in this room!" the Lieutenant warned him with pointing hid index finger at him.

Boscorelli nodded. This was a special moment, and he was extremely grateful for this.

"You remind me of me when I was your age."

* * *

Gently, Kim Zambrano tucked her son into bed. He had been home for a couple of days now and his condition had improved quickly. Now he was a healthy little boy again. They had made more tests at Angel of Mercy Hospital, but no results were in yet. So all Jimmy and Kim could do was wait. And be glad that Joey was well again.

"You scared us good, this time," Kim whispered and softly caressed Joey's cheek.

"Are you still mad at me?" Joey wanted to know, looking at his mother with his big innocent eyes.

Kim laid down next to him and pulled him close.

"No, we're not mad at you, baby! Why should we?"

"Because I got sick…"

Kim drew Joey even closer.

"No, baby, that wasn't your fault. It just happens that people get sick, that's nobody's fault…"

She kissed his forehead and cradled him until he fell asleep in her arms. She watched her son a little while and tried to get rid of the emotions that had been piled up inside of her during the time at the hospital. Again, she kissed his forehead, tucked him in one more time and quietly pulled the door shut behind her.

"He asleep?" Jimmy wanted to know. He had been waiting outside Joey's room the whole time. Bringing Joey to bed was his ex-wife's ritual and he would have felt like an intruder had he been inside there with her. He stood behind Kim, breathing in the smell of her long blond hair.

"Uh-hu," Kim returned, leaning against her ex-husband.

Jimmy softly kissed her neck sending shivers down her spine. Kim felt electrolysed by the touch of his uncasted hand and his lips, just like she always had when they were still married. And even after their divorce, they always seemed to end up together again. Slowly, Jimmy turned her around so she would face him. He leant closer and let his lips found hers merging into a long and intimate kiss.


	23. Chapter 23

It was roll call time. One officer after another found his way into the room. Most were more quiet than usual. Word had spread and by now everybody knew Swersky was going to quit. Captain Stick had done good work with letting the news slip. Sergeant Christopher would become their new Lieutenant. And that thought frightened many. Especially Sully and Yokas.

"If he'll get the job, I'll transfer to another precinct," Sully told his partner in a whispering voice. Swersky had been Lieutenant almost as long as Sullivan could remember, and many of the younger Officers like Davis or Gusler knew only him.

"Alright people, calm down!" Christopher ordered, clearly enjoying the new role he would have soon. He couldn't wait to kick some butts.

It became quiet in the roll call room when Swersky entered, some sheets of paper in his hand.

As if someone made an invisible hand sign, everybody stood up and they began applauding. It was their way of showing their respect to their parting superior. Not everybody liked Swersky around here, but everybody respected him.  
The Lieutenant watched the 20 or so uniformed men and women giving him a standing ovation and tears formed in his eyes. He hadn't expected that. He was deeply touched.

"Thank you," he said and needed to clear his throat.

Everybody went silent, waiting for their superior to say something. Finally, when Swersky had gathered himself again, he looked up and met the eyes of every single Officer. Then he smiled.

"I think I need to day a few words…" Swersky had prepared a statement last night when he was home and his wife had already gone to bed, but now it seemed inappropriate. So he ignored the paper before him and improvised.

"To loosely quote Mark Twain: The news of my early retirement are highly exaggerated."

At first, nobody quite understood what they had just heard, but then it sunk in.

"You're staying?" Gusler asked and looked actually happy, much to the contrary to Sergeant Christopher.

"Yes, Officer Gusler, I'm staying!"

* * *

Everybody had found their way to the station today. Walsh and Converse were there, although they were both still on medical leave. Kim and Jimmy were there as well. They even had brought Joey. Sidney Edwards and Alex Taylor just had returned from a call. Doc and Carlos had seated themselves at the round wooden table. Thirteen people were present, but it was quiet. Everybody was rather subdued that day, their minds remembering long gone conversations.

Alex smiled when she remembered the day when Billy and Joe made her get on her bunk gear and they hung her to the pole on the wall where the fire extinguisher normally was. They wouldn't let her down and even covered her with a jacket, but Johnson still noticed it.

"_And somebody…get Taylor off that damn wall!"_

Jimmy remembered the talk they had shortly after 9-11 when Lieu had told him he was studying for the Captain's test but that he wouldn't take it.

"_They'd assign me to another house. I wanna stay here now!"_

Billy remembered the look on Lieu's face when he told him that they couldn't go into that burning warehouse to get Lombardo and the others out. He doubted it had been an easy decision and from that moment on, Billy had even more respect for his superior.

DK remembered the fun they had when Joe had told him he would become a father and that his kid was to be named Joe too. Somewhere in the middle of it, DK had suggested he could name his kid Oliver.

"_You could call him Ollie for short."_

"_Hey, Ollie," Johnson turned around from the passenger's seat, "get the 6 foot hook!"_

They couldn't believe it was the last day of active duty for Lieutenant Johnson. Everyone had gathered in the squad room, nobody saying a word, the tick-tack of the clock on the wall being the loudest sound. Carlos went over to the cooler to get a soda can and slit the glass doors open as quietly as he could. He chose a "Dr Pepper" and tried to open the can quietly too. But the sound of carbon acid finally making its way out startled everyone, causing looks to be shot at the young paramedic by everyone else.

"Sorry…," Carlos said, raising his hands as if he wanted to surrender.

"Geez, this ain't a funeral," he mumbled as he walked away from the cooler, taking a sip from the can.

Lieutenant Johnson came out of his office and walked over to the big wooden table with the squad's patch painted onto it.

"Nieto is right, guys. This is a firehouse, not a funeral home," he said, trying to hide how touched he was.

"We don't want you to go boss," Alex summed up what everybody was thinking.

Johnson turned over to face her and smiled slightly.

"Well, I won't."

Those three words didn't fail in effect. Everybody was fully alert again.

"Come again?" Billy asked, not sure if he had heard correctly.

Johnson got out a piece of paper from his breast pocket and tore it apart.

"I'm staying," he simply said and put the paper stack onto the table. "I can't leave you. You guys are my family. My _other_ family."

After a moment of silence when everybody let sink in what they had just heard, MacNamara got up first, went over to his superior and held his hand out.  
"Welcome home, boss!"


End file.
